The southern division of the island of Great Britain. In treating of this grand division of the British empire, we shall divide the subject into three Parts; the first comprehending the History of England, the second the Statistics of that country, and the third some account of its Government and Laws.

PART I.

The history of England, till the period of the Saxon Conquest, has been fully treated of in the first chapter of the article Britain. After that event the country relapsed into a state of obscure barbarism, nearly as great as that from which it had been rescued by the Romans. The provincial Britons had profited by their intercourse with that great people. From the latter they had learned many of the arts of civilized life, and during the period of their subjugation they had erected a considerable number of cities, towns, and villages; but these were subsequently levelled with the ground by barbarian invaders, and the natives were frequently involved in the same ruin with their habitations. We are informed by one historian that a mighty conflagration began on the western coast, and gradually extended itself over the whole island. To escape from the exterminating swords of the Saxons, the Britons sought refuge in their native fastnesses; and thus the spark of civilization which had been struck out amongst them, and which, in more auspicious circumstances, might have kindled into a generous flame, was totally extinguished.

About the year 700, the island of Great Britain was divided into no fewer than fifteen sovereignties. Of these, eight were Saxon; but the union of the two Northumbrian principalities reduced the number to seven; and from this circumstance, as well as from some vague alliance amongst these petty states, historians have designated the whole by the name of the Heptarchy. They ruled over a considerable portion of England, and whilst they waged a fierce and endless war with every other kingdom in the island, they also maintained amongst themselves a continual struggle for the superiority. It would appear that one state usually exercised an undefined power over all the others; and the prince who possessed this equivocal ascendancy had the title of Bretwalda, or wielder of the Britons, bestowed upon him. The history of this period is not characterized by any event which would lead us to take an interest in the fluctuating fortunes of the various states. Our information relating to the earliest portion of the Saxon rule is also scanty; but what we do possess is not of such a nature as to awaken any feelings of regret that more minute particulars have not been transmitted to us. Details of the shedding of kindred blood, and acts of oppression, treachery, and cruelty, exercised towards the natives by the fierce invaders of their soil, are not calculated to interest human feelings. The re-introduction of Christianity, however, in some degree alleviated the darkness of the picture. The exact date of its first appearance in Britain is uncertain, but it had made some progress before the close of the second century. It disappeared however, with the other traces of civilization, when the Saxons commenced their devastations. It was in the year 596 that Gregory the Great sent over St Augustin, with forty other missionaries, to convert the Saxons; and their arrival in Kent marks a new era in its history, and probably in that of the country. At this period Kent was governed by Ethelbert, an able and powerful monarch, and the third who bore the title of Bretwalda. He received kindly the deputies of Rome, and became a convert to their doctrine; an example which his subjects were not slow in following. From this period the spread of the Christian faith over the island appears to have been rapid; for we find that in about a century after the arrival of St Augustin it was professed and believed throughout Anglo-Saxon Britain. That it conferred many temporal benefits upon the community, cannot be doubted. But, however its divine precepts may have influenced the conduct and ameliorated the lot of individuals, crimes upon a great scale continued to be perpetrated as formerly. It may have mitigated the horrors of war, but battle followed on battle with as uniform a succession, and native blood flowed as freely, as heretofore. The continual struggle amongst the Anglo-Saxon principalities for the supremacy was however fast coming to a crisis. It is evident that such a state of affairs could not continue for any length of time, and that it must necessarily end in the establishment of a regular hereditary magistracy in the island. This took place partially at the beginning of the eighth century, in the person of Egbert, king of Wessex, who was a lineal descendant, and the only surviving prince, of the house of Cerdic, the founder of that kingdom. The great talents which he early exhibited had given offence to Brihtric, king of Wessex, who, jealous of his popularity, projected his destruction. Egbert, however, eluded his vengeance, and fled for protection to Offa, king of Mercia, a monarch illustrious for the talents he displayed and the prosperity he enjoyed, but whose name is stained with perfidy and blood. Thither the vindictive Brihtric pursued the youthful fugitive, who was finally compelled to cross the channel and to seek shelter beneath the broad shield of the victorious Charlemagne. France, governed by that renowned sovereign, excelled all the states of the West in civilization and the arts of government, as well as those of war. Trained in such a school, therefore, and early disciplined by adversity, he was undergoing an admirable probation for wielding with judgment and moderation the perilous sceptre which was destined to be transferred into his hands. The death of Brihtric, who perished by the machinations of his queen, recalled the fugitive from his exile. In Wessex the claim of Egbert was at once acknowledged, while his accession to the throne of his celebrated ancestor, an event highly popular in itself, was ennobled by a victory, the omen of many a future triumph.

At this period the island, though nominally under a hexarchy, was rapidly verging to a triarchy; from several of the smaller states becoming gradually blended and identified with their more powerful neighbours. Wessex had been enlarged by the incorporation of Sussex; and various favourable circumstances conspired to concentrate in the hands of Egbert a well-organized power, which he was prepared to wield when summoned by any great emergency. For several years, however, after his accession to the throne, his sword remained in its sheath; and this pro- pitious period of tranquillity afforded him an opportunity of turning his undivided attention to the affairs of government. His administration was as mild as it appears to have been politic; circumstances which completed the attachment of his subjects, and consolidated his growing strength. It was upon the unfortunate Britons of the west that he first made trial of his military prowess. About the year 809 the struggle between him and the natives commenced. The latter made a strenuous but unavailing resistance; and Egbert carried the havoc of war and the flames of destruction from the east to the west. In a few years the greater part of modern Wales, as well as the people who occupied the northern shore of the estuary of the Severn, acknowledged his authority. The king of Mercia, whose strength had been augmented by the appropriation of the petty sovereignties of Kent, Essex, and East Anglia, was now the only rival for the supreme authority whom Egbert had to fear or to contend withal. Their power was nearly equally balanced, for what Wessex wanted in numerical force was compensated by discipline and skill. War had now become inevitable; neither would brook a superior, and only one Bretwalda could be acknowledged. The conflict began, therefore, and was speedily brought to a termination. In an obstinate and bloody battle the king of Mercia was totally defeated, and Egbert became lord of the ascendant. State after state was annexed to Wessex; Mercia was invaded and subdued; and in nineteen years after he had first drawn the sword, Egbert was acknowledged over the greater part of the island as the eighth Bretwalda.

The authority of Egbert, however, still continued doubtful; and the Anglo-Saxon power was as yet very far from being consolidated. The fortunes and immunities of those composing the several states were not dependent upon one common legislature; and in regard to the details of government, the whole principalities remained as distinct from each other as before. Wales still continued to annoy him; and it was not until he had marched an army to Snowdon that North Wales quietly submitted to that of the Saxon Bretwalda. But new and more formidable enemies than any he had yet encountered had begun to threaten England, and trouble the tranquillity which it in some measure enjoyed. These were Scandinavians, recognised in France by the name of Normans, and in England by that of Danes. Familiarized, from their maritime situation, to the dangers of the ocean, this people, like the Saxons of old, spent the greater portion of their time upon its waves. A pernicious law of succession, which consigned the whole patrimony to the eldest son, drove the younger branches of families to seek their fortunes by means of their ships and their swords. It was only in this manner that they could acquire riches and renown; and such pursuits were peculiarly agreeable to a people who unhappily preferred the acquisitions of rapine to the fruits of laborious industry. It was the custom of these pirates to set sail for some distant province in squadrons, under the command of chieftains called Vikings, or Sea-Kings. After pillaging the coast where they landed, they collected the spoil and returned to their own country, where they disencumbered themselves of their booty and prepared for fresh expeditions. Three descents upon England are recorded as having taken place in the eighth century, but these attempts produced no permanent alarm. Towards the termination of Egbert's reign, however, the numbers of the pirates greatly increased, whilst their visits were annually renewed; and for two centuries to come the country was destined to be a prey to these fierce and fearless invaders.

After making several successful inroads into various parts of England, in 835 they landed on the coast of Cornwall, where they succeeded in seducing the Britons from their allegiance. The king of Wessex met the united forces of the enemy at Hengstowe Hill, and gained a bloody but decisive victory, which restored the glory of his arms. This was the last exploit of Egbert, who died the year following, after a reign as prosperous as it was long, and which, allowing something for the condition of society at the period, may also be termed glorious.

Ethelwolf succeeded his father on the throne of Wessex; but an unfortunate arrangement, by which the former king bequeathed all his dominions except Wessex to a younger son, greatly weakened the power of his successor, and lessened the influence of the Bretwalda. Ethelwolf had been a monk, and appears to have been better adapted for the cloister which he had left than the throne which he now ascended. The history of his reign presents little of interest or variety. It is merely an account of the atrocities of the Danes, who made repeated descents upon England, laying waste the country, plundering towns, and despoiling the rich monasteries, where treasure was supposed to have been accumulated. No defeat, however signal and decisive for the time, was capable of permanently expelling them from the island; and although routed and compelled to flee for shelter to their ships one year, they returned the next with persevering audacity. In the meanwhile Ethelwolf found leisure to perform a pilgrimage to Rome; and in passing through France on his journey homewards, he espoused Judith the daughter of Charles the Bald, king of the Franks. But he was not permitted to enjoy undisturbed domestic tranquillity. On his return to England he found his son Ethelbald at the head of a formidable conspiracy, which threatened him with deposition and exile. The two parties, however, came without bloodshed to terms of accommodation. It was agreed that Ethelwolf should possess the eastern states appertaining to Wessex, whilst the kingdom of Wessex proper, which belonged of right to the head of the family, should be enjoyed by Ethelbald, but, it would appear, with a nominal subjection to his father. Ethelwolf survived these arrangements only a few years, having died in 858.

After his demise Ethelbald continued to occupy the throne of Wessex; whilst Ethelbert, a younger brother, succeeded to the government which had been left vacant by the death of his father; but both these princes died in a few years, and left their thrones to their brother Ethelred, who assumed the sceptre at a most unprompting period. Not only was the kingdom divided against itself, but the Danes, acting now in a well-organized confederacy, and terrible from their numbers as well as from the frequency of their inroads, threatened the total annihilation of the Saxon dynasty and the subjugation of the island. In the reign of Ethelred ancient chroniclers present us with little else than accounts of battles fought and towns sacked, prolonged by all the sickening minutiae of rapine and bloodshed. The conflicts were numerous and sanguinary; and in one of these, which took place at Merton in the year 870, the king received a wound of which he soon afterwards died.

By the death of Ethelred the throne of Wessex devolved upon Alfred, the fifth and favourite son of Ethelwolf. As an account of this extraordinary individual has already been given under the head of Alfred, it is unnecessary to recapitulate the events of his life. He was succeeded by his son Edward, who ascended what may now almost be termed the throne of England, in the year 901. Alfred had been called to the crown in preference to the children of his elder brother, who were considered at the time as too young to be entrusted with the government. Their pretensions being also set aside at his death, Ethelwold, one of the rejected princes, attempted by violence to seize hold of the royal authority. He formed an alliance with the Danes and other enemies of Edward; but in a battle with the men of Kent he met his fate, and the island was once more rescued from a destructive competition for the crown.

Previously to this event the Danes had contrived, by a union with some of the disaffected provinces, to obtain a kind of permanent footing in the country. They possessed the north of England from the Humber to the Tweed, and the eastern districts from the Ouse to the sea. Emboldened by their strength, they invaded Mercia, but were met by Edward, who obtained over them a decisive victory, which effectually restored his supremacy. The most remarkable individual after Edward was his sister Ethelfleda, upon whom the mantle of Alfred seems to have descended. She governed Mercia, and vigorously seconded her brother in fortifying the country against the common enemy. Upon her death in 920 the Anglo-Saxon monarchy received additional security from the final incorporation of Mercia with Wessex. After various successes over his northern and other enemies, Edward the elder expired at Farrington in Berkshire, in the year 924. This monarch would appear to greater advantage were he not viewed in such close proximity to Alfred the Great, the brilliancy of whose reign was calculated to eclipse that of his successor, had the latter been even a greater man than he actually was. Edward, however, was a great man, and every way worthy to wield the sceptre of his father, which he did with uncommon judgment and success.

He was succeeded by his son Athelstane, whom historians, on the faith of an old song, are in the habit of styling illegitimate; but a contemporary poetess has recognised his mother as the partner of Edward's throne, a circumstance which fairly balances the former authority. There is one argument in favour of his legitimacy, which, as far as we are aware, has been overlooked; it is the exceeding partiality evinced towards him by his grandfather Alfred. It seems improbable that an individual, whose moral rectitude and ardent piety were so conspicuous as those of Alfred, should have singled out as his especial favourite one whose birth was a public scandal; that he should also have invested him with the insignia of knighthood whilst yet a child, and looked upon him as the future hope of Britain, more especially as, supposing the youth to have been a natural son, the legitimate children of his father had a preferable right to the throne. Viewing the matter in this light, the truth of the hypothesis that Athelstane was the fruit of a union sanctioned by law and religion appears highly probable, even allowing that the distinction of natural from legitimate children was at that period somewhat faint. It does not appear to have been so in the mind of Alfred the Great.

Athelstane was thirty years of age when his father expired; and Mercia immediately, and Wessex shortly afterwards, recognised him as king. Opposition was, however, experienced in other quarters; but he ultimately succeeded in seating himself firmly upon the throne, and fully justified the early popularity he enjoyed with his grandfather. In the person of Athelstane the Anglo-Saxon sovereign became a character of dignity and consequence in Europe. His connections with the most respectable potentates on the Continent gave to his reign a political importance, and he is moreover entitled to be considered as the first monarch of England.

The sovereignty of the whole island appears to have been the object of Athelstane's ambition. In his military enterprises he was completely successful, and compelled the princes of the Scots, Cambrians, and Britons, to swear fealty to him, in the same manner as the Saxon vassal was accustomed to swear to his lord. But his prosperity was interrupted by a powerful confederacy formed against him, which threatened not only to emancipate Northumbria from his authority, but even to overwhelm his hereditary government. The confederates were Constantine king of the Scots, and Anlafh the son of Sigtryg or Sihtric, who was king of Northumbria at the time of Athelstane's accession. Anlafh had received the hand of Athelstane's sister; but he drove her from his court, for which barbarous conduct the Anglo-Saxon monarch stripped him of his kingdom and ejected him from the island. Anlafh fled to Ireland, whence he returned with a large fleet, in order to retaliate the insult of his expulsion. The remaining malcontents were the Welsh princes who had been humbled into submission, the Danes who inhabited the eastern coast from Tweed to Thames, the petty states of Cambria, and a constantly increasing host of lawless pirates and freebooters from Scandinavia.

Athelstane prepared with firmness and energy to meet the storm which threatened him with destruction. The armies met at Brunanburgh in Northumbria, and a battle was fought, celebrated in Saxon and Scandinavian poetry. The confederates were routed with great slaughter, and Anlafh and Constantine effected their escape with great difficulty. So complete was the overthrow, and so decisive the victory, that the remainder of Athelstane's reign was undisturbed by the rebellion of his subjects or the invasion of a foreign enemy. The throne of his ancestors was now effectually secured to him; and the Britons were so completely humbled, that to him belongs the glory of having been the founder of the English monarchy. The fame of his accomplishments, his talents, and his successes, was not confined to the insulated kingdom which he governed; it extended throughout all Christendom. With several foreign courts he maintained a friendly correspondence; and three princes, who afterwards became eminent in Europe, were fostered under his care, and restored by his aid or influence. These were Haco of Norway, Alan of Bretagne, and the son of his sister, Louis d'Ou tremer, so called from his residence in England. A concern in the death of a brother named Edwin is generally ascribed to him, but the story is somewhat doubtful; and if the other events of Athelstane's life, his public services and private virtues, be allowed to have any influence upon our judgment, it must be pronounced as improbable. Athelstane died in the year 940, regretted by his subjects, amongst whom he was revered as a prince alike distinguished for wisdom, justice, and benevolence.

Having left no issue, he was succeeded by his brother Edmund, who perished by the dagger of an assassin six years afterwards. The life of this king is not characterized by any events of importance. He was succeeded by his brother Edred, whose reign was short, and distinguished by no remarkable circumstance, except the complete incorporation of Northumbria with the rest of the Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

Edred died in 955, and left the throne to Edwin, who is usually styled Edwy, the eldest son of Edmund the Elder. The name of this monarch is intimately connected with that of the celebrated Dunstan, abbot of Glastonbury. The life of that individual having been already given under the head of Dunstan, we shall only mention here a few circumstances which are indispensably necessary to the complete chain of historical events. The reign of his uncle Edred had been looked upon by Edwy as a usurpation, and when he himself ascended the throne, the counsellors of the former monarch became the objects of his antipathy. He discarded them altogether, and surrounded himself with a host of young courtiers, more ready to emulate the vices of their master than to suggest prudent measures of government. At their instigation Edwy imposed unjust taxes upon his subjects, despoiled the clergy, and committed other unseemly acts. Dunstan, having been one of the leading advisers of Edred, was most probably obnoxious to the young king; and at his coronation a circumstance occurred which brought the hostile parties immediately into collision. On that day Edwin, after the ceremony, withdrew from the festive board at which the nobles and clergy were regaling themselves, and retired to his own apartments. This indecorous act appears to have displeased the assembly; and Odo, archbishop of Canterbury, deputed Dunstan and another individual to bring back the king to join in their carousals. Dunstan penetrated into the private apartments of his sovereign, whom he found in company with Ethelgiva or Elgiva, his wife or mistress; the mother of the latter was also present. The two deputies forcibly tore the king from the company of the ladies, and brought him back to that of the nobles. This daring and insolent conduct of the monk towards the newly-consecrated monarch drew down upon him the royal vengeance. At the instigation of Elgiva, Dunstan was deprived of his honours, and condemned to exile. During his absence, Odo contrived to take Elgiva from her husband's residence, and send her a prisoner to Ireland, where her face was branded with red-hot irons, for the purpose of obliterating her charms; but in vain. They revived with the healing of the wounds; but on her return to England she was pursued by the opposite party, who falling in with her at Gloucester, actually hamstring the unfortunate fair one. In a few days death released her from the vengeance of her enemies and from her own sufferings. In the meanwhile a conspiracy was formed against the now unpopular Edwy; and at the head of it was his brother Edgar, who, supported by the Northumbrians and Mercians, drove the unfortunate monarch beyond the Thames. His sufferings and humiliation, however, were of short duration, for he died in 959, ere he had attained the full age of manhood. By some historians he is said to have been assassinated; others state that he pined to death for the loss of his throne, and his Elgiva, whom he tenderly loved; but all agree that his demise was as miserable as it was premature. His youth was the source of all his calamities, for it seems certain that he was only sixteen or seventeen years of age when he assumed the sceptre. He had also the misfortune to live at a very critical period. It was the commencement of that struggle between seculars and regulars which was to be maintained for many centuries thereafter. The intrusion of Dunstan into the king's private chamber was the earnest of many a bold step upon the part of the clergy. It is thus memorable as being one of the earliest instances in our history, of the putting forth of that overwhelming strength with which the church of Rome was armed, and which was destined ere long to exercise so preponderating an influence over the political affairs of every court in Christendom, whose haughtiest monarchs were soon taught to tremble at the thunder of the Vatican.

The death of Edwin put his brother and rival Edgar in peaceable possession of the whole Anglo-Saxon territory. His reign was tranquil, neither foreign enemy nor domestic broils having interrupted its quiet, so that posterity has styled him "the peaceful." The only event of a warlike character ascribed to him is an invasion of Wales. In his personal character he was distinguished alike for his religious zeal and for his licentiousness. A few facts relating to each of these may be stated here. He espoused the cause of the monks, and, during the sixteen years of his reign, erected a vast number of Benedictine monasteries. He recalled Dunstan from exile, placed the bold saint at his right hand as chief counsellor, and conferred upon him the see of Canterbury. In this situation that celebrated ecclesiastic prosecuted his ambitious schemes connected with the order to which he belonged with redoubled vigour. He expelled the clergy from the monasteries, and supplied their places with Benedictines, making the rule of their founder everywhere predominant throughout the nation.

We now find the church so intimately mixed up with political affairs, that some account of it is necessary for the elucidation of history. Although religious individuals had been collected in monasteries from the period of Augustin's landing in Kent, yet the order of Benedictines seems to be the most ancient example of monastic rule. Each congregation of recluses lived according to its own internal regulations, nor were the several monasteries consolidated into one community before the time of Dunstan. The Scottish or Irish, the Pictish and British churches, though in communion with Rome, were still independent of the papal see; and it was the object of the popes to suppress this independence of the different national churches; a cause which was warmly espoused by Dunstan. His policy was to enforce clerical celibacy; to expel at least all the married clergy from canonnries and prebends in cathedrals, in order to make way for Benedictines; and to reduce all monasteries to the rule of the founder of that order. The opposition he encountered was formidable, and the cause of the clergy was espoused by the laity. Amongst the latter the secular priests found many powerful partizans, and the schisms of the church at last degenerated into factions amongst the people. But Dunstan was impetuous, and determined to carry through the reformation which he had begun, for he looked upon himself in the light of a reformer; and although the extension of his own power and that of his order may have been so blended with his zeal for the service of God as to deceive even himself, yet there seems no reason to doubt his sincerity. That there were many clerical abuses to be corrected, is consistent with the history of religion in all ages. The Danish invasions, and other national calamities, dispersed the clergy amongst the laity, with whose vices they doubtless became contaminated. The necessities of his situation compelled the prelate to be a statesman and an intriguer. He made some progress during the reign of Edred; in that of Edwy we have seen him checked; but in the present one, invested with the highest ecclesiastical dignities, and backed by the power of his sovereign, he appears before us under auspices which enabled him to carry his loftiest projects into execution. And he was not slow in seizing the opportunity. Not content with the ordinary engines of intrigue and supple policy, he drew upon the superstitious feelings of the time, and arrogated to himself divine intuition and the power of working miracles. He succeeded in deceiving that unenlightened age, and perhaps also himself.

The foregoing remarks may afford a key to some of the more prominent events of Edgar's reign. A national synod was held, at which the king publicly expressed his sentiments in favour of the Benedictine cause. It followed as a consequence of this, that the unfortunate seculars were ejected if they refused to comply with the enactments made by Dunstan and his party, under the

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1 There is no direct proof that this atrocity was perpetrated under the sanction of the Archbishop of Canterbury; and it is impossible to implicate Dunstan in the guilt, for he was in Flanders at the time. The deed, however, was done by the adherents, and praised by the encomiasts, of the archbishop.

sanction of the sovereign; whilst monks were everywhere received with honour, and the erection of monasteries was for a time a royal mania. During the sixteen years of his reign Edgar built no less than forty-eight of these establishments.

In the midst of all this holy zeal, however, he found leisure for the indulgence of his licentious appetites. On one occasion he violently carried off a young lady educated in a convent, and made her his concubine. For this offence he was reproved by Dunstan, and compelled to do penance during seven years; but the mortifications imposed were not of a very severe character. His second marriage was connected with circumstances of a very tragic nature. The beauty of a young and noble lady having been praised to him, he commissioned Ethelwold, a favourite minister, to visit her residence, and report upon her charms. The deputy was himself captivated with the lady. He represented her in an unfavourable light to his sovereign, and married her himself; but Edgar, not being satisfied with the report, paid a personal visit to Elfrida, and, fascinated by her beauty, he procured the destruction of her husband, and espoused the bereaved lady herself.

In extenuation of these delinquencies, he has been allowed the honourable distinction of having warmly patronized trade with foreigners. His commutating the tribute from Wales into three hundred wolves' heads, and his reformation of the coinage, also redound to his credit. By his orders a numerous fleet constantly guarded the kingdom from invasion, and he regularly visited his provinces in order to countenance the execution of the laws. His reign was glorious, and he seems to have converted his prosperity into ostentatious pomp. It is stated that eight kings, amongst whom were Kenneth of Scotland, and his son Malcolm of Cumbria, did him homage by rowing his barge down the river Dee.

Edgar died in 975, in the thirty-second year of his age, and was succeeded by Edward, surnamed the Martyr, his eldest son. A younger brother, Ethelred, by Elfrida, disputed the crown with Edward; but the latter was finally established upon the throne through the influence of Dunstan. His reign was chiefly occupied with disputes between the two clerical systems before mentioned, Elfrida having, on account of her son Ethelred, espoused the cause of the seculars, in opposition to Dunstan, who headed the regulars, and who was also the means of supplanting her son. The monks gained a complete victory over the seculars, who were now totally expelled from their convents. During this reign occurred that tragic circumstance which has afforded modern historians an opportunity of accusing the primate of murder. A council of nobles had been summoned to meet at Calne. During the proceedings, just as the wily Dunstan had pronounced these words, "I confess I am unwilling to be overcome; I commit the cause of the church to the decision of God,"

the floor fell instantly down, and numbers of his opponents History were killed and wounded. The primate, and probably his partizans, escaped unhurt, a circumstance which can only be accounted for by supposing that their seat remained unmoved. Some historians charge Dunstan with having secretly loosened the floor from the walls, and affirm that during the debate the temporary props which supported it were withdrawn according to his directions. This is very improbable; but there can be little doubt that he interpreted the occurrence as a divine judgment upon his enemies, and thus wrought upon the prejudices of that superstitious age. Several heinous crimes are laid to the charge of the queen dowager, but the last was the darkest and most atrocious of all. Edward, in one of his hunting excursions, visited Corfe Castle, in Dorsetshire, where Elfrida resided with her son Ethelred. He was received with the utmost cordiality, and invited to enter the castle, but declined, requesting at the same time to see his brother, and also the favour of some refreshment. Whilst in the act of raising a cup of wine to his lips, he was mortally stabbed in the back by the orders of his stepmother. On account of his violent death he has been surnamed the Martyr.

Edward was succeeded in 978 by Ethelred, the unconscious cause of his untimely fate. When the latter attained the crown he was only in his boyhood, and throughout a long life he never rose above it. This is one of those reigns which it is painful to narrate. It was the saddest which the descendants of Alfred yet had seen, and presents a strong contrast to that of his father. Edward compelled kings to be his watermen. His son by Elfrida became the sport of traitors; and having five times purchased his crown from the roving Danes, he was forced at last to make an ignominious surrender of it to a foreign invader.

For more than a century the Northmen had formed the chief part of the population of Northumberland and East Anglia, and they now stretched their power to the utmost in order to place one of their chiefs upon the Saxon throne. In 980, and for ten years thereafter, England was insulted by a series of inroads, which, although unimportant of themselves, were calculated to excite some alarm amongst the people, when the latter contemplated on the one hand the power and audacity of the Danes, and on the other a pusillanimous monarch and an ungarrisoned country. But these petty aggressions were followed, in 991, by the appearance of a formidable armament upon the English coast. The invaders advanced without opposition as far as Malden, where they gained a victory, and their retreat was disgracefully purchased by a bribe of ten thousand pounds. Repeatedly afterwards did the Northmen play the same game, and Ethelred make the same debasing submission, by purchasing a momentary respite from their ravages. But the very means which were employed to rid the kingdom of these invaders one year, insured their return the

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1 Dr Lingard, in his History of England, vol. i. p. 333, states that he is disposed to doubt this tale as improbable. "Malmesbury," says the learned and able historian, "on the faith of an ancient ballad, has transmitted to us a story probably invented by his (the king's) enemies." The story may possibly have been invented by his enemies, but where is the evidence, direct or indirect, that this was the case? Dr Lingard goes on to say, "It is improbable in itself, and supported by questionable evidence." Now, where lies the improbability? The tragic character of the transaction is in perfect keeping with that of the times in which it was committed; and as for the perpetrator himself, does not the abuse of the nun prove that, in order to gratify his unhallowed desires, even the religion, for the propagation of which he displayed such unbounded zeal, offered no impediment. Was the law of nature with regard to moral evil stronger in his mind than that which religion had imposed? This is much to be doubted. Nay, it may be surmised that the erection of so many monasteries was a voluntary penance which his conscience dictated him to perform, in extenuation of such crimes as those that are said to have charged the existence is also said to be questionable; but if historians, and the learned Doctor along with the rest, unhesitatingly accept as historical facts the events and transactions related in similar compositions, we see no reason for making an exception with respect to the legend before us, because it happens to stand in the way of a favourite hypothesis. If we take one we must take all, exceptions being made where there is direct contradiction by other authentic evidence, as is the case in the present instance. Sir James Mackintosh observes, "William of Malmesbury, who might have known the counsellors of Edward the Confessor, relates the incident on the authority (not to be despised) of a Saxon song. The same story is told by a later chronicler called Brompton (Dec. Script. 863), at great length, and with particulars characteristic of barbaric manners."

VOL. VIII. History, next. Treson, famine, and disease, also aggravated the calamities which overwhelmed the nation. Amongst the instances of defection, that of Alfric, earl of Mercia, demands particular attention. On account of his misconduct he had been deprived of his government, but had recovered it again through the influence of his friends. In 992, a meeting of the witenagemote took place at London, where it was resolved to put the kingdom in a posture of defence, by constructing a powerful fleet, and manning it with picked men. This was accordingly done, and the command of it conferred upon Alfric, with another nobleman and two prelates. Their commission was to surprise the Danes at some part where they could be surrounded; but this judicious scheme was foiled by the treachery of the commander, who not only gave the Danes notice of the intentions of the English, but consummated his perfidy by secretly joining them. He urged an immediate flight; but in the pursuit his vessel was taken, though the traitor himself escaped. The king revenged himself upon Alfric, by ordering his son Algar to be deprived of his eyes; an act as barbarous as it was useless.

This bold exertion on the part of the invaded compelled the Danes to transfer their arms from the south to the north of England, where they extended their ravages; but in 994 appeared two new and more powerful chieftains, Sweyn, king of Denmark, and Olave, king of Norway. With ninety-four ships they sailed up the Thames, and, although repulsed at London, they succeeded in raving several counties. But another humiliating subsidy redeemed England from their grasp; and, what is more astonishing still, Olave was honourably received at the court of Ethelred, where he pledged his word never to molest England more. This promise is only remarkable insomuch as it was faithfully kept. The army of his companion Sweyn, however, continued to occupy the country, to which in course of time it became almost naturalized. That it should remain inactive was not to be expected; but that with impunity it should have been allowed to despoil provinces, displays a want of firmness, courage, and national spirit, which seems unnatural to the island, and can only be accounted for by supposing the existence of a weakness almost amounting to imbecility in the sovereign or his counsellors.

In 1002, Ethelred having lost his first wife, who bore him ten children, married a Norman princess, who assumed the name of Elgiva. The same year became memorable in the history of England for the perpetration of a crime as black a dye as ever darkened the annals of any people. This wicked act, which rose out of a mischievous policy, is known by the name of the Massacre of the Danes. On the 13th of November, the festival of St Bride, the unsuspecting Northmen, with their wives, children, and all belonging to them, were cruelly put to death by a royal warrant. The details of this fearful transaction are too horrible to be related. Suffice it to say, that no place, however sacred, saved the victims from their pursuers; and that when they fled to the churches for shelter, they were slaughtered in crowds around the altars. One painful episode is interwoven with this tale of blood. Gunhilda, the sister of Sweyn, king of Denmark, who was wedded to an English earl, saw her husband and children massacred before her eyes, and was herself afterwards beheaded. It is related by all historians, that in the agonies of death she foretold the vengeance which would descend upon the English nation for the barbarous act which it had committed; and the prediction was realized, as we shall hereafter see.

The calamities of England seemed now to thicken as the atrocities of its ruler grew darker. Common pity for the failings of humanity would lead us to pardon Ethelred's pusillanimity; but this dark deed has affixed a blot to his History, scutcheon too deep for time ever to wash away. Sweyn was not slow in revenging the fate of his countrymen; and, through negligence and perfidy on the part of England, he succeeded in ravaging the island, for several years almost with impunity. In 1007, thirty-six thousand pounds of silver abated his thirst of revenge. Two years afterwards the most powerful armament which had yet obeyed the flag of England was collected at Sandwich; but treason again paralyzed its operations. The captains abandoned their vessels, which were steered up the Thames by the mariners. "Thus," say the annalists, "perished all the hopes of England." The surrender of sixteen counties, and forty-eight thousand pounds, stayed for a short period the rapacity of the Northmen. The picture which the now fallen and devoted England presents, it is painful to contemplate. Accumulated treasons and defeats had unnerved the courage of the natives; whilst the numerous victories of the Danes had swelled their pride, and inspired them with a preposterous idea of their warlike powers. Many fortified cities withstood all their assaults; but the open country was abandoned to their rapacity. Systematic destruction and spoliation was their principle; and the fields, deserted by the husbandmen, ceased to yield the necessary supplies of food, so that the Danes themselves were compelled to quit the island in search of provisions. Taxation, direct and annual, which must be traced to this period, weighed also upon the energies of the people, and materially increased the now almost universal discontent. In the midst of this ignominious submission and disaffection, it is pleasing to record instances of magnanimity, and painful to reflect that these were so few in number. The Archbishop of Canterbury having been made a prisoner by the Danes, was offered his liberty for a moderate ransom, on condition that he would advise Ethelred to pay them heavy sums of money as a largess. "I have no money," he replied, "and I will not advise the king to dishonour himself." Still they persisted; but the dauntless prelate remained unshaken. The barbarians condemned him to death; and he was immediately assailed with bones, horns, and other remains of a feast in which they had been indulging. "Gold, bishop; give us gold," they exclaimed, as they dragged him forth; but he remained unmoved, and having been felled to the earth with the rude missiles which were showered upon him, he received a mortal stab from the hand of a man whom he had himself baptized.

Sweyn made his last incursion into the country in 1013. Terrified at the universal disaffection, Ethelred fled at last to Normandy, whence he returned on hearing of Sweyn's death, which occurred shortly afterwards. The latter was succeeded by his son Canute; for the Danes would now appear to have put in a claim for the sovereignty of the whole country. Ethelred was recalled by the English chiefs, who exacted a promise from him that he would govern with less tyranny than formerly; and pledges were also interchanged between the Danes and English. But a contest soon ensued between the two parties; and although Ethelred succeeded in repeating upon a small scale that system of treacherous massacre for which he had so severely suffered, yet Canute maintained his superiority in open warfare, and took a barbarous revenge upon the hostages in his hands, for the murder of his friends. Treason again added a fearful contribution to the accumulated evils which surrounded the unfortunate Ethelred. His son Edmund, surnamed, from his hardihood, Ironside, vainly attempted to make head against the Danes; for Canute penetrated to York, where he was joined by the Earl of Northumbria and a number of the people. The country was now a prey to two contending armies; but just at this crisis it was reliev- Edmund Ironside was immediately chosen king by the English; and if the exertions of one man could have saved the country, this achievement would have been performed by the new king. During his short reign, for it extended only to a few months, he gave proofs of bravery and ability equal to any exigency, and worthy of a happier fortune. The first struggle between him and Canute was for the possession of London, which was held by the English. During the siege Edmund fought two battles in the provinces, one of which took place at Scearston, and is celebrated by our annalists. Twice the darkness of night came to the relief of the exhausted armies, which had both suffered severely; but the dawn of the third morning showed the result to be in favour of the English. Canute, however, had taken advantage of the night, and marched upon London. Not long afterwards another battle was fought, in which Edric, a traitor thrice steeped in infamy by his defection, played the game of victory into the hands of Canute. After this calamitous event the greatness of Edmund's soul became more conspicuous. Although a numerous army had again rallied around his standard, he shuddered to lavish more of his country's blood in this murderous warfare, and challenged Canute to decide their quarrel by single combat. Whether this proposal was accepted or not, is matter of uncertainty; but at all events a pacification was shortly afterwards agreed upon, and England was divided between the rivals; the north being given up to Canute, whilst Edmund retained possession of the south. The latter, however, died shortly afterwards; and there is reason to believe that he perished through the machinations of the perfidious Edric.

Edmund left two sons, infants; but by the unanimous voice of the nation Canute obtained the sovereignty of England. This remarkable prince was only twenty years of age when he assumed the reins of government. His qualities as a monarch were of a very high order, not unalloyed, however, with the ferocity natural to the Northmen of the period. The first object of his policy was the removal of the children of the two preceding kings. Some of the sons of Ethelred were slain, and the rest consigned to banishment; whilst those of Edmund were sent over to Sweden, for the purpose of being dispatched. But their fate was averted by the prince to whom they were conveyed. He sent them both to the king of Hungary, by whom they were educated in a manner befitting their station. One died in his youth, the other married the daughter of Henry, the emperor of Germany; and their issue was Edgar Atheling, who will be mentioned hereafter.

Canute divided the kingdom into four governments. He retained Wessex to himself. East Anglia was conferred on a chief named Thurchil, who had formerly distinguished himself; and Eric and Edric were continued in Northumberland and Mercia. But the latter shortly afterwards received the full reward of his crimes and perfidy. At a Christmas festival celebrated in London, he had the audacity to boast of his services, when Canute ordered him to be cut down, and his body thrown into the Thames. The Danish king had embraced Christianity, and also taken to wife Emma, widow of Ethelred. The profession of the former removed the main barrier between his English and Danish subjects; and his espousal of a royal female was no doubt intended to conciliate the affections of the Saxons; and it seems to have had a considerable effect in this respect. The other events of this reign will be found related under the head of CANUTE. He died at Shaftesbury in 1035, and was interred at Winchester. By his wife Emma he had a son and daughter; the former called Hardicanute, or Canute the Hardy. But previously to his marriage he had by another lady two sons, named Sweyn and Harold. The former was installed in the sovereignty of Norway, and the latter ascended the throne of England.

Harold was not entitled to the crown; for it had been provided in the marriage settlement of Emma, that the issue of Canute by her alone should reign; yet he being on the spot, succeeded in obtaining the sceptre as well as the treasures of his father. Edward the son of Ethelred, certainly the legitimate sovereign of the kingdom, made an attempt to obtain it, but proved unsuccessful. His brother Alfred renewed the enterprise, which proved fatal to him and to most of his followers. This prince received a letter, which purported to be from his mother, inviting him to come over and take possession of his father's dominions. The proposition was flattering, and in an unlucky moment he yielded to it. Having landed with six hundred followers, he was treacherously made prisoner, along with his companions. Every tenth man was set at liberty, a few more were reserved as slaves, and the remainder were massacred and mutilated with the most capricious cruelty. Prince Alfred himself was deprived of his eyes; and this shocking barbarity soon afterwards terminated in his death. The unfortunate sufferer was the dupe of a forgery; and the whole villainous transaction seems to have been planned by Harold, and executed by his minions, particularly Earl Godwin. This remarkable individual, according to the only account of him which we possess, was the son of a Saxon herdsman. In his youth he had assisted Ulfr, a Danish chieftain, to make his escape to the ships of Canute. The Northman took him under his charge, and by successive steps he rose to the dignity of a Jarl, and to the possession of power little less than sovereign during three reigns. The atrocious deed of blood above related is the only event of importance associated with the name of Harold the First. He died in 1040, and was succeeded by Hardicanute, his brother by the half blood.

This sovereign reigned about two years; and the little that is recorded of him is of a very mixed character. He came over from Denmark, breathing revenge against the murderers of Alfred, and even went so far as brutally to insult the lifeless remains of Harold. Godwin stood prominently forward as an object of punishment, but a splendid present turned aside the shaft of vengeance. Others also escaped by appealing to his avarice, which seems to have been his ruling passion. Edward the son of Ethelred was kindly and honourably received at his court—a noble act of generosity; yet the author of it died of intemperance at the nuptial feast of a Danish lord.

Edward, surnamed the Confessor, the surviving son of Ethelred, was chosen king of England in 1042. He was a weak and feeble prince, and incompetent to the task of vigorous government; yet the commencement of his reign was characterized by an act of severity. He despoiled his mother Emma of her property, and deprived her of her influence. These proceedings were prompted by the antipathy which she bore to the king, and by her lukewarmness in not punishing the murderers of her son Alfred, of whose blood it was even whispered she was not entirely guiltless. The weak and irresolute character of the king threw the power entirely into the hands of the three noblemen who divided the Saxon territory amongst them, Siward earl of Northumberland, Leofric earl of Mercia, and Godwin earl of Kent, whose daughter, Editha, Edward had been induced to marry. Godwin was by far the most powerful of the three; for besides his own territory in Wessex, his two sons, Sweyn and Harold, held large domains northward of the Thames. In 1051 he at last presumed to bid defiance to his sovereign and son-in- Edward, who had sojourned a long time in Normandy, where he was well treated, when he ascended the throne invited the guardians and friends of his youth to accompany him to England. They accordingly flocked to him in great numbers, and received ample preferment. One of them, named Robert, obtained the primacy, at that time the station of highest dignity and power. Amongst those who resorted to England was Eustace count of Boulogne, who had married Edward's sister. At Dover, one of Godwin's towns, a foolish affray took place between the followers of the count and the English. This circumstance gave vent to the popular jealousy of the people against foreigners. Godwin assembled a force, and claimed the surrender of Eustace; but the latter was supported by the king, who ultimately succeeded in driving Godwin and his sons into exile. The star of Godwin seemed now to have fairly set; but just at this moment there arose another of far more disastrous omen to the Saxon line. William duke of Normandy came to England with many of his followers, on a visit to his cousin Edward. He was received with great honour, and loaded with presents when he returned to his own country.

Had the illustrious stranger never risen to be ruler of England, his first visit to it would probably have been passed over by historians with a simple relation of the event. But his singular fortune has induced some writers to find in it a clue to his subsequent proceedings. It is impossible to conjecture what may have passed in his mind upon this occasion. On the one hand he saw, that in the course of a few years, the crown would soon become vacant, for its possessor was now stricken in years, and, moreover, childless. On the other hand, there stood in the way of his claim to it, first of all, Edward, the son of Edmund Ironside; then his son Edgar Atheling, a weak prince, however; and afterwards the brothers of Edward's queen. Under such circumstances his vaulting ambition may have led him to indulge in aspirations to the crown; but only a vague probability of ultimate success must have been awakened in a mind possessed of such high reflecting powers as that of William the Conqueror. Too many obstacles stood in the way of his fostering any sanguine hopes of acceding to the throne of England; and it is certain that the objects of his first visit were pacific. It appears highly probable that his politic foresight might induce him to take measures for securing the crown after the death of Edward the son of Ironside, which took place some years subsequently to his visit to England; and a conjecture may be hazarded that it was immediately after the demise of his brother's son that the Confessor made a promise to William of leaving him the crown. That such a promise was given was afterwards alleged by the Conqueror, as we shall see when he comes before us as a claimant of the sovereignty. In about a year after this the Godwins were restored to their honours and estates; and Editha, who had been repudiated by the king, was called from her prison to the throne. She was innocent of any participation in her father's guilt. The annalists of the time represent her in the most amiable light, and as incapable of devising evil either against her husband or any other individual. On his re-instalment in his earldom and possessions, Godwin succeeded in inducing the king to outlaw Archbishop Robert and all the Frenchmen; and not long after he died ripe in years and in crimes. In 1055 Siward followed him to the grave; and two years afterwards expired Leofric, the wise and powerful duke of Mercia, who was succeeded in his dukedom by his son Algar. Tostig, brother of Harold, received the earldom of the former; but in a few years afterwards (1065), he was deposed for his cruelties, and his sovereignty conferred upon Morcar, son of the Duke of Mercia.

Soon after these transactions, the pacific monarch of England began to sicken. When he saw his end approaching, he ordered the magnificent church of St Peter at Westminster, which he had built, to be consecrated with solemnity and splendour. He died two days after, on the 4th or 5th of January 1066, in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, and was interred in the church which he had so recently dedicated. He left no issue; for he had taken a vow of continence for life. Edward Atheling, the only surviving son of Edmund Ironside, had landed from Hungary with his wife and children, for the purpose of being proclaimed heir to the crown; but shortly after his arrival in London he expired, bequeathing his claim to his son Edgar.

Edward the Confessor presents himself to us only in one character, that of a royal monk. His piety and gentleness might have adorned a cloister, but, unallied with those sterner virtues which fit a monarch for wielding the sceptre with firmness and energy, they rendered him unfit for ruling, except under the influence of able counsellors, which he had the good fortune to possess during the greater part of his reign. Abject superstition will unnerve even a strong mind, and to a weak one it imparts a character of childlike feebleness, and forms such an individual as Edward. But he had many amiable qualities, which would have redeemed even greater weaknesses than those with which he is chargeable. He loved his people much; he was averse to the imposition of taxes, some of which he abolished; and his charities were frequent and extensive. His subjects repaid his attentions by lamenting his loss as a national misfortune, and consigning his memory to the veneration of posterity.

The day which witnessed the funeral of Edward, saw the coronation of Harold, the son of Godwin. A report had been circulated that the Confessor had appointed him his successor, which greatly conciliated the chiefs; indeed the only opposition which he experienced was from his own unnatural family. On Edgar Atheling, the last surviving prince of the house of Cerdic, was conferred the earldom of Oxford, in lieu of the crown. Tostig, the brother of the king, was a competitor for the crown. Harold Hardrada, king of Norway, promised him his support, and the politic duke of Normandy did the same. In Flanders he was permitted to raise an army, with which he landed in Northumberland; but he was defeated by Morcar, on whom the earldom of the province had been conferred. The discomfited Tostig fled to Malcolm, king of Scotland, where he was well received. The Caledonian monarch had himself been sheltered at the English court during the usurpation of Macbeth, and was established on the throne of his ancestors by the aid of England. As a grateful return for the attentions he had received in that country, he always readily welcomed the malcontents who fled from it. The arrival of his Norwegian ally recalled Tostig from his exile. They joined forces at the mouth of the Tyne, and marched upon York, in the neighbourhood of which city the Saxon army sustained a defeat. But this was only a prelude to the grand struggle. Harold, the king, notwithstanding the necessity under which he lay of watching the south-eastern extremity of the island from a still more formidable rival, collected a considerable army, and marched with promptitude and secrecy to meet Tostig and his Norwegian ally. So rapid had been the movements of the king that he took the enemy in some degree by surprise. They, however, retired upon Stamfordbridge on the Derwent, where they drew out their line of battle. The contest which ensued was bloody, and long of doubtful issue. For a while the firm array of the Norwegians bade defiance to all the efforts of the English cavalry, which, accustomed to charge in detached masses, History fell in this dispersed state almost harmless upon the bristling rampart of Scandinavian spears. The king of Norway, conspicuous by his blue tunic and glittering helmet, made the most heroic exertions; but victory forsook his standard; a fatal dart pierced his throat, and he fell lifeless to the ground. Tostig assumed the command, and after a desperate effort to turn the fortune of the day, he perished, with the flower of the Norwegian army. This victory, which is memorable on account of the dreadful slaughter that distinguished it, was gained on the 25th of September 1066. It must be recorded to the honour of Harold, that twice he offered peace and pardon to his rebellious brother, once before and once during the heat of battle, when the Norwegian had fallen, but both times these offers were refused. Three days after this conflict William duke of Normandy landed in England, and Harold had to prepare for another desperate struggle to retain the crown. It will now be necessary to examine how far the pretensions of the new competitor for it were legitimate.

This celebrated claimant to the sceptre of England was the descendant of Rollo, a renowned Viking or Sea-King, who flourished at the beginning of the tenth century. Rogvaldr, the father of Rollo, was one of those carls appointed by Harold Harfager, or the fair-haired, to guard his conquests. He had two sons, Thorer and Rolfr, better known by his more celebrated name of Rollo. The progenitor of William the Conqueror was expelled from his country on account of a violation of the law which forbade freebooters, under pain of death, to destroy cattle on the Norwegian shore. Driven from his paternal shores, he resolved to seek for a kingdom elsewhere; and after much successful valour he succeeded in establishing a Scandinavian state in France. Rollo proved himself a prince worthy of a kingdom, and his acquisition in course of time assumed the name of Normandy. His exertions for the improvement of his dominions, the civilization of the rude Northmen, and the humanizing of their minds to the love of order, justice, and the arts of peace, class him with those illustrious individuals who have proved themselves benefactors of the human race. He died in 931, and was succeeded by his son William. After two others, Robert the Magnificent, or the Devil as he was perhaps more appropriately designated, succeeded. He was father to the duke, who now appears before us as a competitor for the English throne. William was an illegitimate child by a damsel of humble condition, of whom his father was enamoured, but could not wed during the lifetime of his duchess, the sister of Canute. Like their northern progenitors, the nobles of the Norman duke were careless of the distinction between concubinage and wedlock, so that on the death of Robert in 1035, William, although then only eight years of age, was triumphantly placed upon the ducal throne, which he filled with renown for fifty-three years.

The circumstance of numerous Norman barons having settled in England during the reign of Edward the Confessor, who was the grandson of a duke of Normandy, has already been noticed; as also the visit paid by William to the childless monarch. It was afterwards asserted by the Duke of Normandy, that upon one occasion, probably that to which we have already alluded, Edward had bequeathed to him the crown of England. He also alleged a testamentary bequest, as well as Harold. Both were alike destitute of any claim founded on the modern principles of hereditary descent, but both by consanguinity made out a species of right to inherit; William as the grand uncle of Emma the king's mother, and Harold as the king's brother-in-law. The claims of the champions were therefore nearly balanced, and seem to have contented their partizans; the sword alone could decide to whom the real title should belong.

In the mean time the claim of Harold suffered considerably on account of a circumstance which occurred a short time before the demise of the late king. The Saxon had been shipwrecked in France, but obtained leave to proceed to Normandy by alleging that he was intrusted with some communications to Duke William. That prince received him kindly, and imparted to him the hopes which he cherished of obtaining the English crown. He received a promise of aid from Harold, and by an artifice succeeded in making him swear fealty to his cause. Underneath the missal on which the Saxon had sworn were concealed various sacred relics, such as the bones of saints and martyrs, and thus he had unconsciously bound himself by the most solemn oath. When the struggle came, Harold urged the plea of compulsion as releasing him from any obligation to keep his vow. Abhorrence of oath-breakers, however, is characteristic of a superstitious age; and whilst the circumstance materially weakened the cause of Harold, it strengthened in a corresponding degree that of his rival.

There is also every reason to believe that it was the principal means of enabling William to obtain from the holy see a declaration in favour of his enterprise. At such a period a bull from the pope was itself worth an army, and this the adventurer not only obtained, but also a consecrated standard, a ring, and a lock of his holiness's hair.

William now set busily to work in preparing the means of offensive aggression. When his purpose was known, he was speedily joined by all the young knights of the neighbouring countries who sought fortune or renown, and by all the freebooters whom the hope of spoil allured to his standard. With an armament more formidable than the western nations had yet witnessed, he accordingly put to sea. Annalists have greatly exaggerated the number of his troops; for altogether they did not probably much exceed twenty-five thousand men. With this army he landed without opposition at Pevensey, in the county of Sussex, as has already been observed. He made no stay at that place, however, but proceeded immediately to Hastings to procure provisions. Harold, apprised of the arrival of his most dreaded enemy, flew to attack him. William, informed of his victory and advance, was counselled by some to remain in his entrenchments, and not to hazard an open engagement. But the mind of the future conqueror was not liable to the agitations of fear. He had thrown his life upon a cast, and was resolved to stand the hazard of the die. In this emergency the conduct of Harold has been severely censured. He appropriated to him-

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1 In the History of England by Sir James Mackintosh (vol. i. p. 90), the following sentence occurs: "One of the sons of Roguvald, called in the Icelandic poems Hrolfr, better known to us by the name of Rollo, had, for reasons unknown to our authorities, been excluded from all share in his father's domains, and had no resource but piracy." The reason of his exclusion was in all likelihood his being a younger son. We have already noticed, that amongst the Northmen of this period an absurd law obtained, by which all but the eldest son were excluded from any participation in the property left by the father. By this pernicious arrangement the younger branches of families were driven to seek their fortune upon the sea. It is certain that Roguvald left two sons; it is also next to certain that he would observe the law of the land as it then existed. Now, the question comes to be, which of the two was the first born. There is no direct evidence upon the point, but the circumstance of Thorer's name having always the precedence when the brothers are mentioned together, and also that of Rollo's piratical exploits, whilst there is no mention made of his brother in that capacity, seem to determine the point that the progenitor of a future royal family of England was the youngest son;—and thus the difficulty is explained. self all the spoils of the late battle, which added to his unpopularity; whilst the death of his brother was by common report imputed to him. On his march against William, a considerable portion of his army deserted him, and their place had to be supplied by raw and undisciplined levies. When the two rivals were near enough to interchange messages, the Norman offered Harold the choice of abdication, of single combat, or of appeal to the pope. These propositions being rejected, he was then offered Northumberland for himself, whilst Kent would be conceded to his brother Gurne; but the latter proposal shared the fate of the former one; upon which William declared his intention of giving battle to his rival, whom he looked upon and designated as a liar and a perjured wretch, excommunicated by the holy father. He even expressed astonishment that an individual conscious of such guilt as that with which Harold was chargeable should venture his person in battle. We are told that such a feeling also prevailed in the English army, and that the king was advised by his brothers Gurne and Leofwin to withdraw, whilst they would lead on the battle. Harold, however, only smiled at their apprehensions, and expressed his resolution of commanding the army in person.

On the morning of Saturday the 14th of October William advanced to the attack of the Saxons, after having solemnly heard mass and received the sacrament. The previous night is also said to have been passed in devotion, whilst songs and revelry resounded throughout the Saxon camp. The spot which Harold had fixed upon for this important contest was a piece of rising ground about eight miles inland from Hastings. It was open towards the south, and was covered at the back by an extensive wood. On the front of the declivity the troops were arranged in one compact mass, in the centre of which floated the royal banner, with the king and his two brothers near it. On an opposite hill stood William in front of his warriors, with the relics upon which Harold had sworn hung round his neck, and the consecrated standard waving by his side. After a short address to animate his soldiers, he advanced upon the enemy, shouting the national war-cry "God is our help;" whilst the cry of "Christ's rood, the holy rood," rose from the adverse ranks. The impetuous onset of the Normans was received by the English with their battle-axes, with which they broke the lances and cut the coats of mail, on which their opponents placed great reliance. The confidence of the Normans began to waver, and the left wing, both horse and foot, actually gave way. With eager rashness the English pursued, and thus exposed themselves to the hazard of being cut off; for William with dauntless fortitude and presence of mind had succeeded in rallying his fugitive bands. The attack was renewed, and again the English repulsed it. The duke had now recourse to an artifice which ultimately proved the destruction of the enemy's army. By a feigned flight he allured a body of them from their strong position, and, whilst the latter too eagerly pursued, he turned upon them with his cavalry, and hewed them in pieces. Twice was this stratagem repeated, and each time with perfect success. Still the main body of the English presented an unbroken rampart of shields, against which the mass of Norman chivalry for a long time was hurled in vain.

During the conflict both leaders gave proofs of personal bravery and skill worthy of the crown which the one was combating to retain and the other to wrench from his grasp. William had three horses killed under him, and hand to hand he had grappled on foot with his adversaries. A little before sunset Harold, both of whose brothers had already fallen, received an arrow in the eye, which penetrated to the brain. His fall relaxed the vigour of the English. Their lines were penetrated, their standard taken; and a panic having seized upon them, they broke and dispersed through the wood, whilst darkness closed upon the spoils of the field and the hopes of the Saxons.

Thus ended the battle of Hastings, memorable in various respects, first, as introducing a new dynasty of monarchs to rule the southern part of Britain; and secondly, as opening up to the inhabitants of the island the means of a more extensive intercourse with the continent than they had ever yet enjoyed. By this means were introduced into Britain those modes of life, manners, customs, and institutions which were at the time considered as characteristic of civilization and refined society; and henceforth England was destined to take a large share in the transactions and fortunes of the continental powers, perhaps ultimately for the mutual benefit of all parties.

On the morning after the battle, the victors, having stripped the bodies of the slain, pranced wantonly over them with their horses. The mother of Harold, like another Andromache, begged the corpse of her son from the conqueror; but whether her maternal request was complied with or not is a matter of great uncertainty; for upon this point our annalists are either contradictory or ambiguous. By one party it is asserted that the corpse of the fallen monarch was interred upon the beach; by another that it was given up when demanded, its weight in gold having been offered as a ransom. Perhaps both are correct; for it is probable enough that it was first buried on the shore, and afterwards exhumated at the request of the mother. Without entering into any speculation connected with the Norman conquest, we may simply remark, that in order to interest the reader of English history, and excite commiseration and pity for Harold, he has, by a number of historians, been invested with talents, virtues, and accomplishments which he did not possess in a degree sufficient to command the entire affection of his countrymen during his life; whilst his death has also been deplored with unnecessary regret, as a sort of national loss. Where the stakes are equal, and the game a fair trial of strength and dexterity, sympathy will always side with the loser. Over his opponent Harold had the advantage of fighting for his native land against a foreign invader; but it must be observed that his own aggrandisement and the independence of the nation were inseparably connected, and that in pursuing the one he was combating for the other.

Before entering into the subsequent history of the conqueror's proceedings, it will be necessary to pause and take a rapid glance at the Anglo-Saxon institutions before they were supplanted by the system which the successful invasion of the Normans was destined to introduce.

The Anglo-Saxon king, without possessing despotic sovereignty, was in dignity, property, and power elevated far above the level of the rest of the nation. He was elected by the assembly called the wittena-gemote, a meeting of wise or prudent men. This was the great council of the nation, and seems to have resembled what our modern parliament would be if lords and commons mingled together and debated in one house. It was composed of the prelates, earls, and a great many thanes or considerable proprietors of land, a class similar to our modern gentry; so that the Saxons may be said to have possessed the elements of a free and popular government, though as yet in a rude and chaotic state. This supreme judicial and legislative assembly was convened by the king, and held its meetings on the great festival days of the church, such as Christmas. But these were not confined to such seasons, being called together according as circumstances required. Besides electing the king, and presiding at his coronation, they assisted him in making laws and treaties, in military preparations, in administering justice, and the other affairs of government. Their power was considerable, but it de- pended in a great measure upon the character and capacity of the sovereign. The highest officer in the kingdom was the ealdorman; he was chief of a shire, and had great judicial powers. An earl was the next dignity, which remained separate from the former until towards the close of the Anglo-Saxon period, when the title of ealdorman seems to have been superseded by that of earl; under them were other officers, whom it is unnecessary to particularise. There was of course a wittena-gemote to every kingdom; and when all the principalities merged in Wessex, and gave rise to a single one for the whole country, the monarch occasionally held shire-gemotes, or county meetings, where the laws made by the king and his counsellors were proclaimed, and being acknowledged and sworn to, became binding on the whole nation.

The Anglo-Saxons were divided into freemen and slaves. But there was a third class, such as bordars, cottars, and others, who were cultivators of the soil, and, ranking probably in the lowest order of freemen, were scarcely reduced to the degrading level of slaves. As far as has yet been ascertained, the class which was subject to the most complete thraldom was small in comparison with those who enjoyed superior privileges, probably about one in seven. The Anglo-Saxons paid some attention to the cultivation of the land, which was held by various tenures, and liable to certain burdens, which varied in kind and quantity. Military service, which consisted in providing a certain number of armed men when public safety required them, was one of these. The other two great services were the constructing or repairing of bridges, fortresses, and walls. Besides these, the sub-proprietors of land were more or less liable to many other burdens. With regard to their conveyances, we have several of their grants of land without any pecuniary consideration; of their conveyances on purchase; of their deeds of exchange; of their testamentary devises, and their leases. These were, in the early periods of Anglo-Saxon history, short and simple; but in grants of a more recent date the general words are nearly as numerous as in our present deeds.

The supreme legal tribunal was the wittena-gemote, which, like the present House of Lords, was paramount to every other. There were also shire-gemotes and burgh-gemotes, so many yearly meetings of which were strictly enjoined upon those who composed them. Much of their judicial proceedings rested upon oaths, and perjury was therefore severely punished. For the various breaches of the law the punishments were commonly pecuniary. In the case of murder, the amount, which was partly levied by the state as a penalty, and partly granted to the family of the deceased as a satisfaction for the loss of their relative, was proportioned to the rank of the murdered man. Persons accused of crimes had occasionally to pass through an ordeal of hot water or hot iron, of which they had their option.

There were many popular institutions which rendered the king subordinate to the community. The meetings of the people at the various courts, from the folkmote of the hundred, to the wittena-gemote of the nation, contributed to foster the principles of equal law and of popular government. From the Anglo-Saxons we derive our language, the names of the most ancient officers among us, and those of the greater part of the divisions of the kingdom, and of almost all our towns and villages.

In their domestic habits the Anglo-Saxons were social, and loved the pleasures of the table. Their food was that mixture of vegetable and animal diet which always marks the progress of civilization. Ale and mead were their favourite drinks, and wine was an occasional luxury. They had become so far acquainted with the conveniences of civilized life as to display both variety and vanity in adorning their persons. Their dwelling-houses seem to have been small and inconvenient, although they were both expensive and magnificent in their ecclesiastical buildings. Amongst the Anglo-Saxons females were very respectfully treated, and occupied the same independent rank in society which they now enjoy. The trades and mechanical arts had made considerable progress, and even foreign commerce was carried on and considered as a highly honourable calling. With regard to their circulating medium, it may be shortly stated, that they had their pounds, shillings, pence, and farthings, exactly as we have at present. Learning, except amongst ecclesiastics, was neglected; and with regard to literature, little can be said with certainty, for the monuments of this kind which they have left us, except what is historical, have not yet been examined with sufficient care.

The conquest of England did not altogether terminate with the battle of Hastings. London and other important towns were put in a posture of defence, whilst a numerous fleet had assembled at Dover to interrupt the proceedings and distract the attention of the invader. Edgar, the legitimate heir to the throne, appears to have been either crowned or acknowledged as sovereign at London, where the two powerful earls Morcar and Edwin, with the loyal inhabitants, resolved to make a desperate stand against the advancing foe. William, however, instead of attacking the city, chose rather to lay waste the country, which he did most effectually, consigning to the flames what could not be forcibly removed. He now appears before us in a character somewhat new. Formerly he had combated for the crown against an individual who, according to all modern notions of legitimacy, had no more right to it than himself; but in the present instance he was attempting to snatch it from the brow of him who alone had a hereditary claim to wear it. On this account the atrocities committed by his troops are justly contemplated with horror, whilst the disposition to palliate them is proportionally lessened.

William, however, was the candidate favoured by the see of Rome, and the bishops interfered in his behalf. Stigand, the metropolitan, was the first to throw himself on the mercy of William, whose he met as the conqueror crossed the Thames at Wallingford, and swore fealty to him as his sovereign; others followed his example, as did Edgar, Edwin, and Morcar upon the part of the nobility. The crown was offered to him, and he was formally invested with it in Westminster Abbey, on Christmas 1066. During the ceremony a tumult arose which made the stout heart of the conqueror to tremble beneath its iron mail; and, had an English force, led by any competent commander, and capable of making head against the Normans, appeared at the moment, it might have cost him his crown and his life. Whilst, by loud acclamations, both English and Normans expressed their willingness to have William for king, his troops set fire to the houses, and commenced the plunder of the city. The coronation service was hastily concluded, and the insurrection quelled without much difficulty, although the English looked upon it as a bad omen, and William as a most unfortunate occurrence. It was his interest to propitiate the affections of the people whom he had now been appointed to govern, and he anxiously wished to do so. In explanation of this occurrence, it is usually alleged that the Normans mistook the acclama-

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1 Turner's Anglo-Saxons, vol. ii. passim. Mackintosh's England, vol. i. p. 71. tions of those who shouted within the church for an alarm of the English to rise in revolt. But if this had been the case, why did they not instantly fly to the rescue of their king, instead of spreading themselves about and firing and pillaging the city? His safety was surely their first care; for had he fallen, their fate was inevitable. The whole unquestionably originated in the desire of the troops for sack and pillage.

Hitherto William had been called the Bastard; from this period he obtained the surname of the Conqueror, a term which at the time was employed to designate a person who had sought and obtained his right, as well as a subjugator. It was necessary for William to maintain a strong military force in order to compel the obedience of his subjects; and he could only feel himself secure surrounded by his trusty Norman barons. But the duration of their services being limited to a certain term, they naturally expected to be released from their engagements, and re-conveyed to their country, when the period of servitude had expired. In order to encourage them to remain, he put into their hands the strongholds and principal towns of the kingdom, whilst all the conquered territory of the English, which he had at his command, was likewise distributed amongst them. Having thus put his dominions in a secure posture, he embarked for Normandy, carrying along with him Morcar, Edgar, and Edwin, and leaving the chief management of affairs in England in the hands of William Fitzosbern, a Norman baron, and Odo, bishop of Bayeux, the son of his mother by a plebeian husband. During the absence of the Conqueror, the Saxons began to mutter threats of vengeance, and even went so far as to enter into a conspiracy to cut off the Normans as their forefathers had done the Danes. It appears, from the testimony of several credible annalists, that the oppression which the English suffered at the hands of the insolent soldiery was most galling, and called loudly for retaliation. These alarming rumours crossed the channel, and reached the ears of William, who hastened from his continental dominions, and, landing in England in December 1067, made a sort of second conquest of that country. The Saxons of Devonshire, joined by the neighbouring Britons in Cornwall, had thrown off their allegiance to him, and against them he first turned his arms. They made a gallant stand; but William having reduced Exeter, succeeded in breaking the spirit of resistance for a time. About this period, Edgar, with his mother and two sisters, having embarked for Hungary, were driven by a tempest upon the coast of Scotland. That country was at the time governed by Malcolm, surnamed Ceanmore, who gladly received the fugitives, and made them a return for that kindness which he had himself experienced under similar circumstances at the English court. Many Saxon nobles followed Edgar, who, with subsequent emigrations of disaffected Normans, founded the greater number of the Scottish noble families. Malcolm afterwards married Matilda, the eldest sister of Edgar.

William the Conqueror now turned his attention to the north, where his authority had not yet been properly established. From the heart of Mercia to the confines of Scotland a spirit of open insubordination prevailed, and was fostered by Edwin, who had been at one time promised the hand of William's daughter, but was afterwards refused it. The insurrection became formidable; but it was soon quelled, and this served more and more to confirm the power of the Normans. William penetrated as far as York, which opened its gates to him, scattered the isolated and feeble bands who opposed his march, and reduced all the important towns on his way. During this expedition he also fortified a number of castles. The tranquillity thus produced was, however, of short duration. At Durham the English succeeded in massacring the whole Norman force established there, excepting two men. York followed the example of Durham, and rising upon the garrison, killed the governor, with many of his retainers. Shortly after this event, the sons of Harold, the late king, landed from Ireland with the intention of making an effort to recover the crown; but they were utterly defeated in two engagements, by Brian, son of the Earl of Bretagne.

A new and formidable auxiliary of the malcontents had now however arrived in the Humber; this was a powerful Danish armament. Edgar Atheling, several illustrious Saxons, and crowds of the English, having joined them, they successfully assaulted York; but William, apprised of their descent, hastened to the scene of war. His usual good fortune attended him; and the Danes were compelled to quit the country without crossing arms with the Normans in any conflict worthy the name of a battle. Hints have occasionally been thrown out that they were bribed by the Conqueror; but of this circumstance there is no direct evidence. Upon another point, however, all historians are agreed, namely, that, piqued by these repeated insurrections, the king, in a transport of passion, had sworn to extirpate Northumbria. This merciless vow was performed nearly to the letter. Unbounded license was given to the soldiery, who ravaged the country with fire and sword. The destroying angel could scarcely have left a more desolate wilderness behind. An historian, William of Malmesbury, who wrote sixty years after the event, thus describes it: "From York to Durham not one inhabited village remained; fire, slaughter, and desolation made it a vast desert, which continues to this day." The dead remained unburied; famine, with pestilence in its train, stalked throughout the neighbouring provinces; whilst confiscation brought up the rear of this terrible visitation, and completed the ruin of the country and its inhabitants, gleaming whatever the sword had not destroyed. Such atrocities as these imprint a blot upon the escutcheon of William which it is impossible to obliterate. To his authority the rebel chieftains were compelled to submit; and having thus in the most summary manner crushed rebellion in this quarter of his dominions, he returned southwards, clearing the provinces of the disaffected as he proceeded, and repairing or building castles for the subjection of the country.

William was now undisputed master of England. The conquest of the country, properly speaking, only began

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1 Although not mentioned by our historians, contemporary annalists establish and illustrate the fact that the armies of the continent at this period were in a great measure composed of mercenaries, who followed war as a profession, and hired themselves out to the best paymaster. These individuals were different from those who followed the banners of the barons according to the feudal system. They were little better than hired banditti, and were very numerous in the Low Countries, whence William had sprung. That the force with which he invaded England contained vast numbers of these condottieri, is not only probable, but appears nearly certain, when we contemplate the methods of furnishing out an army in those days. The plunder of the provinces which they overrun or conquered seems to have been looked upon by them as not only allowable, but as forming part of their reward. That the affair at William's coronation arose from their rapacity for pillage, which they looked upon as a right, there can be little doubt; and they chose the most fitting time for successfully carrying their project into execution; a time when their leaders were withdrawn, and in attendance at the ceremony going on within the church. They had previously broken out in the same way at Dover. History, with the battle of Hastings. It was not until seven years thereafter, when he carried the terror of his arms to York, that the country was completely subdued. Before that period not one half of England acknowledged his authority. But the spirit of the Saxons was now fairly broken, and finding themselves pursued with such extirpating vengeance, many of them sought refuge amongst the hills and forests, whilst others emigrated to foreign lands. A party of them under Hereward, a resolute chief, attempted to make a stand in the island of Ely, immediately after the northern massacre. This land of fens and marshes was the last asylum of Saxon independence; and Morcar, with some bishops and the remainder of the most conspicuous Saxons, repaired thither. For a while William disdained to notice the efforts of Hereward; but at last he invaded his circumscribed territory, and, scattering his little band, compelled him to fly. This bold and patriotic chieftain afterwards gave in his submission, and being allowed to retain his paternal possessions, the end of his days proved happy. His daring exploits had endeared him to his countrymen, and conferred on him a romantic celebrity. His actions were the theme of many a Saxon song; and even the Normans did homage to his warlike virtues. He was the last of the Saxons who drew the sword in the cause of national independence.

William having now quieted the tumults at home, turned his attention to Malcolm, king of Scotland, whom he compelled to submit. The affairs of the church also occupied him for a time; and several changes were effected, not, it may well be believed, to the advantage of the Saxon prelates. One of them, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was deposed, and his place supplied by Lanfranc, who, although a worthy man, was the creature of William, and in bondage to Rome. In the meanwhile, Edgar Atheling had sought and obtained the friendship of the Conqueror, who, to his honour, ever afterwards maintained this weak and almost imbecile youth in ease and affluence at his court. William now ventured upon another visit to Normandy, where we shall leave him engaged in petty contests, and take a view of the state of England after its subjugation.

By the introduction of a foreign sovereign, a foreign hierarchy, and a foreign nobility, the native population suffered severe depression. To supply the liberal grants of land and places of honour and trust to his followers, the English were of course sacrificed; and thus they were compelled to become the servants or dependents of their conquerors. Contempt and oppression became their heritage. Their farms were pillaged, their females violated, their persons imprisoned, and other indignities heaped upon them, at the caprice of the petty tyrants who were set over them. The principal favourites of the Conqueror had another distinction conferred upon them in addition to the grants of land. This was the earldom or command of the several counties. Two legal revolutions occurred or were completed during the reign of William; the separation of the ecclesiastical from the civil judicature, and the introduction or consummation of the feudal system, for an account of which the reader is referred to the proper head. He effected various other judicial changes which were ultimately beneficial to the community. The crown revenues were a continuation of those which the Anglo-Saxon kings enjoyed; but they appear to have been considerably increased by the various changes which took place, and also very carefully collected: for from an ancient historian we learn that the king's daily income amounted to above one thousand pounds, a sum almost incredible when we reflect that gold was then three times and silver ten times the value which they possess in modern times.

During the visit of William to his continental possessions, the Norman barons rebelled against him, and were joined by some Saxon chiefs. The king hastened across seas with a band of auxiliaries, and made an easy conquest of the insurgents. The remaining events of his reign are not sufficiently important to require a minute recital. The most remarkable is the revolt of his son Robert, who had been promised the duchy of Normandy when William first invaded England. The French monarch fomented the hostilities between the father and son, which existed for several years, and closed with a most romantic incident. Robert, being besieged in the castle of Gorberoi, engaged a knight enveloped in complete armour, and unhorsed him, at the same time inflicting a wound in his arm. When about to pursue his advantage, Robert recognised in the fallen warrior the voice of his father. A reconciliation was finally effected by the tears and entreaties of Matilda, the mother of this Norman Absalom.

Whilst engaged in a desolating warfare against Philip, king of France, William came before the town of Montes in July 1087, and ordered it to be burned. He rode to view the scene, and galloping among the smouldering ruins, his horse reared and plunged so violently as severely to wound the rider, who was at the time very corpulent and unwieldy. He was carried in a dangerous state to the vicinity of Rouen, where he breathed his last, on the 9th of September. On his death-bed the conscience of the Conqueror appears to have stung him deeply; for he ordered that several prisoners in England, amongst whom was Odo his half-brother, should be set at large; and that restitution should be made for what he had violently destroyed. But these atonements were inadequate to expiate the crimes of which he had been guilty.

The character of William has been drawn in the Saxon chronicle by an Englishman, who was his contemporary, and lived at his court. From this document we learn that the king was very wise, very rich, and "more worshipfull and strong than any of his fore-gangers." It is added, that "he was mild to good men who loved God, and stark beyond all bounds to those who withstood his will;" and the chronicler goes on to show that he exercised a passionate as well as politic tyranny. That, in fact, he surpassed his contemporary rulers in capacity for command, the events of his life bear ample testimony. All those qualities which fit an individual for directing and controlling the minds of men in troubled times he possessed in an eminent degree. In extenuation of his perfidy and cruelty, it may be urged that these detestable qualities were not more characteristic of him than of the age in which he lived; and that he is conspicuous for them above his competitors only because, from the vigour of his mind, and the great transactions in which he interested himself, he was their superior in every thing else. In a happier state of society, when moral restraint is generally recognised, and influences the development of the mental con-

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1 Sir James Mackintosh, in his History of England (vol. i. p. 166), gives a somewhat different account of this youth, but upon what authority is not stated; ours is Mr Turner, who quotes from William of Malmesbury. There is considerable ambiguity in the passage: for Sir James (p. 162 of the same work) says that Malcolm Cenmore "married the Princess Margaret, after the death of her brother Edgar." Now the king of Scotland espoused this princess several years before the events noticed in p. 160, so that one or other of these statements must be erroneous; for none of our historians makes mention of two contemporary princes named Edgar belonging to the royal house of Wessex. Much has been written concerning the Norman conquest, for it is a subject of inexhaustible interest. That it became ultimately of incalculable benefit to the country, whatever may have been the suffering immediately consequent upon the event itself, no one can doubt who reflects upon the fluctuating condition of England, its oscillation between foreign bondage and native independence, its internal broils and never-ending distractions, previously to the invasion of the Normans, with the consolidated strength which it internally displayed, and the dignified bearing which it outwardly assumed, after it was conquered by them. Insurrections, though not unknown afterwards, were of less frequent occurrence, and far less alarming, than before; and from the period of the invasion of William, no foreign enemy dared to set his foot upon the soil with impunity. Amongst the financial innovations of his reign was the composition of the Doomsday Book, for an account of which the reader is referred to the article under that head.

The Conqueror left three sons by his wife Matilda. Robert, the eldest, was installed in the duchy of Normandy; whilst William, surnamed Rufus or the Red, from his complexion, obtained the throne of England, and was crowned on the 28th of September 1087. An attempt was made by his half-uncle Odo to dethrone him, and to set up his brother Robert in his stead. But William, alarmed at the formidable demonstrations which were made against him, appealed to the English for aid, and his call was most loyally obeyed. The Normans who had invaded England were compelled to fly, and William carried the war into Normandy, where a reconciliation was effected in the year 1091. The king of England had acquired several continental fortresses, of which he was still to retain possession. It was also stipulated between the brothers, that on the decease of either, the survivor should succeed to the dominions of the other. Henry, the younger brother, who suffered by the treaty, held out several strong places in Normandy; but they joined their forces together, and besieged him in St Michael's Mount, whence he was compelled to fly from want of water.

Robert accompanied his brother to England, where he had been promised possessions as an equivalent for the fortresses which he had yielded up in Normandy. But William did not find it convenient to fulfil the terms of the treaty; upon which his brother, who had again crossed the channel, sent over two heralds for the purpose of declaring him a false and perjured knight. In order to defend his honour, the king followed them into Normandy; but his transactions there belong rather to his own individual history than to that of the country which he governed. The possession of his brother's dominions was a leading object of William's ambition; and he gradually acquired an ascendency in Normandy, which he repeatedly invaded, obtaining new cessions at each adventure. Robert finally mortgaged the whole country to him for three years, at an equivalent of ten thousand merks.

The other events of William's reign were, an invasion of Wales, which was crowned with the usual success; and a war with Scotland, in which the monarch of that country was slain. His government of England was most unpopular. For the gratification of his own appetites, and the enriching of worthless favourites, he plundered the country with impunity. During the life of Lanfranc, his disciplined rapacity was checked by the wisdom and influence of that excellent prelate. His death, however, removed every restraint, for the king supplied his place by the appointment of an able but remorseless counsellor, who, according to the king himself, was capable of braving the executions and the vengeance of mankind, in order to gratify his master's desires. Many bishoprics, including amongst these the see of Canterbury, were kept vacant by the king for several years, until a severe illness convinced him of the necessity of appointing a primate. The individual whom he fixed upon was Anselm, one of the most learned and meritorious men of his age. This individual at first demurred to accept the archbishopric, dreading the violence of the king; but the earnest solicitations of his friends at last induced him to comply, and he thus became primate of England. William, as long as his illness was of a dangerous character, showed himself penitent and submissive. He commanded all his prisoners to be released, all his debtors to be forgiven, and all offences to be remitted; and he solemnly vowed that if he recovered he would govern the land in righteousness. But no sooner was he convalescent than he showed that his profession of amendment was only a matter of convenience, and extorted from an unforgiving spirit by the terrors of death. Anselm, as was usual in such cases, brought a voluntary present to his master as an acknowledgment for the dignity which had been conferred upon him; but the gift, not corresponding to the avaricious views of the monarch, was refused, and the unfortunate primate was ever afterwards persecuted by him with the most unrelenting tyranny. Anselm at last sought shelter in Rome, where he continued until William's demise.

The death of the monarch, like his life, was violent. Whilst hunting in the New Forest, he was accidentally struck by an arrow, which buried itself in his breast, and he expired on the spot. The shaft is believed to have been shot at random, and to have come from the bow of Walter Tyrell, a French knight, who immediately made his escape. This event happened on the 2d of August in the year 1100.

Henry the First, surnamed Beauclerc or the Scholar, ascended the throne of England three days after the death of his brother, the preceding monarch. The compact which had been made between William and Robert was set aside; but the latter, considering himself as aggrieved, invaded England. The formidable demonstrations made by his brother, however, intimidated him, and a pacification was at last effected at the accession of Henry; and the latter propitiated the favour of his subjects by many wise acts. He removed the unpopular agents of his unfortunate brother, particularly Flambard, the obnoxious minister formerly alluded to, and also abolished the oppressive exactions which the latter had enforced. Anselm was recalled, and the clergy conciliated, whilst the people had restored to them the Anglo-Saxon laws and privileges as amended by Henry's father. He also gratified the nation by espousing Matilda, or Maud, daughter of Malcolm, king of Scotland, by Margaret, the sister of Edgar Atheling.

The king now turned his attention to the punishment of the outlaws who had thrown off his authority. Amongst these were included several noblemen, and particularly Robert de Belesme, the most powerful subject in England, and a man haughty, rapacious, and deceitful. He had secured himself within the walls of Shrewsbury, but at the arrival of Henry before this place he made a humiliating surrender, upon which his life was spared, but he was condemned to perpetual exile. Some time after these events Robert unexpectedly arrived in England, where he was received with apparent affection by his brother. but very soon discovered that he was in reality a captive. The purpose of his visit was to intercede with Henry in favour of the rebels; but instead of compounding for their liberation, he was reduced to solicit his own, which he obtained by consenting to pay an annuity of three thousand marks. After his return to Normandy he entered into terms of friendship with the outlaw Belesme, who possessed numerous castles in the country. Intelligence of this having reached Henry, he renounced the alliance by which he had bound himself to keep the peace with Robert. This compact was similar to that which had subsisted between William and Robert, and a second time the latter became a brother's dupe. Henry invaded Normandy, and a decisive conflict before the walls of Tinchebray, on the 27th of April 1106, decided the fate of Robert. His army was completely routed, and he himself taken prisoner and sent to England, where he remained in close confinement till his death, which happened in 1135. The cruel fate of this prince has served as a foil to the virtues which he possessed, and shed over them an artificial or spurious lustre. There can be no doubt, however, that his qualities as a warrior were brilliant, and his mind would seem to have been forgiving and conciliatory. Perhaps an amiable weakness in the latter respect was the ultimate cause of his misfortunes. Amongst the prisoners taken at Tinchebray was Edgar Atheling. Either from his inherent weakness precluding anything like fear on his account, or from a desire to retain the golden opinions of the Saxons, Henry pardoned him, and from this period the descendant of Alfred intrudes himself no more upon the page of English history.

Robert had a son about five years of age named William, whom a faithful vassal succeeded in conveying to the French court. As the age of this prince advanced, the hopes of his partizans proportionally increased. Henry, after obtaining possession of Normandy, had succeeded in tranquillizing it, and restoring peace and order; but as his nephew grew up, the claims which he possessed to the duchy of his father became more and more popular, and disturbed the quiet both of his uncle and the country. Henry should have at once yielded his paternal inheritance to the young prince; and the withholding of it was an act of injustice which harassed his life and dishonoured his name. The Norman barons, along with the king of France, took part with the injured youth; but this coalition terminated with the battle of Brenville, which was fought in the year 1119. Louis, the French king, had four hundred, and Henry of England five hundred knights. Both princes displayed great bravery during the engagement, which ended, with comparatively but little bloodshed, in favour of the English. William of Normandy made his escape; and the pope, who paid a visit to Henry at Gisors, effected a reconciliation between him and Louis, without touching upon the main cause of quarrel, namely, the difference between the English monarch and his brother Robert, or rather his nephew William, the father being now politically dead.

Matters having been once more pacifically arranged, and the ambition of Henry gratified, he set sail for England towards the end of November 1120. Upon this occasion a most calamitous event occurred in his family, namely, the loss of his only son William. The prince, with a large retinue of gay young knights and noblemen, embarked shortly after his father. Festivity, riot, and intoxication prevailed on board; but in the midst of this feasting and debauchery, the care of the vessel being forgotten altogether, she struck upon a rock near Harfleur, and went down. Of three hundred individuals who were on board, only one escaped to record the dismal fate of his companions. Prince William would have been saved but for the shrieks of his natural sister, which recalled him to the wreck with the boat in which he was proceeding towards shore; and it sunk under the multitudes who crowded into it.

This sudden calamity revived the hopes of Henry's nephew William, and disturbed all the arrangements of the king in Normandy. A new war was kindled in that country; but it terminated in 1124 in favour of the English monarch. The discomfited youth, however, received a new favour of fortune. Louis of France bestowed upon him the hand of his sister-in-law; and along with her he received several of the provinces nearest to Paris, which had been united to Normandy by conquest. Soon afterwards he was invested with the earldom of Flanders, which had been left vacant by the assassination of Charles the Good in 1127. In the meanwhile, Henry had endeavoured to perpetuate the succession in his own family, by marrying a second time, after the death of Matilda, his first wife, who had brought him a son and daughter. The premature fate of the former we have already noticed; and the latter, named Matilda, had espoused the Emperor of Germany. The marriage of the king proved to be without issue; and his daughter having recently become a widow, was invited to England, for the purpose of settling upon her the succession to the throne. In a general assembly of the prelates and chief tenants of the crown she was proposed by her father and acknowledged by the meeting as heiress presumptive; and shortly after this transaction her father privately married her to the Count of Anjou. This secret negociation drew forth loud complaints from the barons; and many of them declared that the duplicity of the king had released them from the obligation of their oath. This doubtless disturbed the serenity of the king's reign; but another and more important cause of disquietude arose from the increasing power and fame of his nephew in Flanders. However, the death of that prince soon afterwards removed all uneasiness on his account, and restored at least the prospect of tranquillity. But this was not realized; for a quarrel with his son-in-law retained him in Normandy, and embroiled the last years of his reign; which was now drawing towards a close. Robert, the unfortunate duke of Normandy, died at Cardiff Castle in Wales, in the eightieth year of his age and twenty-eighth of his captivity, a great part of which had been spent in total blindness; for an unsuccessful attempt to escape had provoked his brother to deprive him of sight. All the historians of the period do not mention this circumstance, and some state that the prisoner enjoyed every indulgence; so that the point is doubtful, and for the honour of humanity we leave it in this state. In about a year thereafter, he was followed to the grave by king Henry, who died of a surfeit of lampreys, on the 1st of December 1135, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and thirty-fifth of his reign.

The character of Henry has been drawn by both friends and enemies, his contemporaries. The former extol him as wise, rich, and brave; and the latter execrate him as cruel, avaricious, and incontinent. By joining the two characters together, we will form a pretty fair estimate of the monarch. He was undoubtedly an able statesman and a courageous soldier, whilst his resolute attack upon the popular system of rapine which disgraced Europe at the time is entitled to very high praise. He punished offences severely; but his administration of justice was highly beneficial to the country; and hence arose his title of the Lion of Justice. On the other hand, the immorality of his private life, his exactations, his cruelty to his brother and others; his dissimulation, for even his favourites distrusted him; and his avarice, for he hoarded gold like a miser; render his character exceedingly equi-

Wolsey, however, continued to rule with unabated sway from 1521 till 1527. This period is not distinguished by any events of importance, if we except the opposition which the House of Commons offered to the minister in his attempts to raise supplies. That body obstinately disputed these grants, and attempts were made to raise money by the expedients of forced loans and pretended benevolences, which the legislature had already condemned. But these attempts produced a small supply and a great deal of discontent. Wolsey, notwithstanding his unwearying exertions in behalf of his master, never felt himself perfectly secure in his elevated situation. The capricious and tyrannical temper of Henry forbade his ministers to be at ease in any place of trust near his person. The fall of Wolsey seems always to have appeared to himself as an event of very likely occurrence, and these gloomy forebodings were at last realized. The cause of the rupture between the king and him was the divorce of Queen Catherine, which the former had begun to project. But the fall of Wolsey was not the only event connected with Henry's divorce; it ultimately led to one of the most memorable transactions in the history of England, namely, the separation of that country from the communion of the church of Rome.

The doctrines of the reformation, propagated by Luther in 1517, had gained considerable ground in England, and many professed a belief in them, notwithstanding the severe persecution which had been carried on against heretics during some of the preceding reigns. The papal authority, though still very great, had in the space of ten years declined considerably; but a detail of the circumstances connected with this subject is not required in this place. It may be noticed in general, that the reformation in England was facilitated by the undeniable corruption of the clergy, and the experience which many individuals had of; and the partiality which they entertained for, the doctrines of Wickliff. The seed sown by that divine had never been destroyed; and if it did not show itself above ground, it was extending itself underneath, perpetuating a sort of dormant existence, and ready to spring up on the first propitious occasion. Besides, the marriage of King Henry was looked upon by many as in itself illegal, and only sanctified by a dispensation from the pope.

Whether Henry himself, during the early years of his reign, felt any scruples about the validity of his marriage, may reasonably be doubted; for no trace of any thing of the kind can be discovered in his public conduct till the year 1527. The queen was some years older than himself, and was now past the meridian of life. Her personal charms had decayed, and the heart of the royal sensualist could not be attracted by beauty that belonged purely

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1 History of England, vol ii. p. 121. to the mind. She had borne him several children, all of whom died in infancy except the Princess Mary, who survived both her parents, and afterwards ascended the throne.

It is reported of the inconstant monarch, that he attributed the mortality in his family to the curse of heaven, which blighted his unnatural alliance with Catherine, his brother's widow. But there was another and more powerful circumstance which led him to contemplate a divorce from his queen; this was the love which he had contracted for Anne Boleyn. The charms of this lady had touched his fiery but not unsusceptible heart; and as his passion could not be gratified except by means of an alliance sanctioned by law, he set seriously to work for the purpose of removing the amiable partner of his throne and bed, and placing the youthful beauty in her stead. The secret intentions of the king having become to some extent public, he ventured to ask the opinions of the most eminent ecclesiastics upon the point. The dangers of a disputed succession, if the king should die without male issue, were brought forward as an urgent plea for taking the step which he had in view. He had also recourse to his theological lore, and certain religious scruples connected with his first marriage helped to give a colour of principle to his real desires, and at the same time to impart to them life and warmth. Some of the divines whose counsel was asked declared that no dispensation could authorize a marriage with the widow of a brother; which they proved from a passage in the Pentateuch. Others, who also founded their arguments upon a portion of Scripture, contended that the prohibition referred to by the opposite party was not universal, and might be dispensed with in the king's case, where the first marriage had been unproductive of issue. Cardinal Wolsey, who had a hazardous game to play, coincided with the former, and gave Henry hopes that his petition to the court of Rome would be successful. But Anne was not the individual whom the prelate had in his eye as a wife for the king. He was desirous of wedding his master to a French princess, and, we are informed, threw himself on his knees before Henry, and entreated him to desist from a project so unworthy of his birth as an alliance with the Boleyn family. But the pliant mind of the cardinal yielded to the imperiosity of his master and to the force of circumstances; and he found it necessary to atone for his indiscreet zeal by displaying redoubled activity to promote the marriage with the lady upon whom the king had fixed his affections. The illustrious Sir Thomas More declined to support the divorce, and Fisher bishop of Rochester acted with the same integrity.

A deputation was sent to Rome by Henry for the purpose of sounding Pope Clement upon the subject of the divorce. The pontiff was in a situation unfavourable to the success of the application; and although he was bound to the English monarch by the ties of gratitude, he declined giving an immediate assent to the proposition, but appointed two legates to hear and determine the validity of the first marriage of Henry. He also gave a solemn promise not to recall the commission, nor to do any act which should annul the judgment or prevent the progress of the trial. The pontiff was at this period engaged in a contest with the imperialists; but he at last concluded a treaty of alliance with the emperor, who appeared the only potentate capable of shielding him from his other enemies. The forensic disputes respecting the divorce still remained unsettled, and, from the date above mentioned, Clement took his final part against the degradation of the queen of England, who was an Austrian princess. But still, by ingenious delays and plausible formalities, he contrived to amuse Henry, whose power it was not his interest to treat with direct contempt. The patience of the English monarch, however, was now completely worn out by these fruitless attempts at negotiation, and he redoubled his entreaties to the pope to comply with his demands. Clement, in order to show a willingness to acquiesce in the wishes of Henry, sent over Cardinal Campeggio, who, either separately or in conjunction with Wolsey, was empowered to hear and determine the matrimonial suit. The legate at first attempted to dissuade Henry from pursuing the divorce; but being unsuccessful with the monarch, he next tried to persuade Catherine to embrace a religious life, in which he also failed. The popular feeling was against Henry; and he felt himself compelled to remove Anne Boleyn from court, where she had for some time resided. At a great council which he convoked, he declared that in prosecuting this matter he was solely actuated by a desire to know whether or not his only remaining child Mary was the rightful heir of the crown. On this occasion he made an appeal to the feelings and consciences of his hearers which affected them much; and the perplexities consequent upon the late proceedings afforded Campeggio an opportunity for putting off the decision of the question until he had obtained further instructions from Rome. Meanwhile Clement was seized with a dangerous illness, which retarded his answer; and is said to have revived in the ambitious mind of Wolsey a hope which he had before indulged in, of obtaining possession of the tiara. This occurred in the spring of 1529; and although the pope recovered from his sickness, his legate contrived from time to time to postpone the trial. On the 31st of May, however, the court of parliament met, and summoned the king and queen to meet on the 18th of June. The latter obeyed, but protested against the judges, and appealed to the pope. At the next session, on the refusal of the cardinals to admit the appeal, she rose, and in a calm and dignified manner threw herself at Henry's feet, imploring him in a truly eloquent address to desist from his intended purpose of repudiating her. It made a profound impression upon the audience, and even touched the cold heart of her husband. The legates carefully prolonged the trial until July, when a vacation from July to October took place, during which time all courts were bound to suspend their sittings; and, notwithstanding the importunities of the king, Campeggio contrived to get the suit removed to Rome. Agreeably to the instructions of Clement, Campeggio quitted England, and the pope summoned Henry to appear before him in forty days.

In these transactions Wolsey took no inconsiderable share, and the compliant manner in which he gave his consent to the suggestions of Campeggio excited the suspicions of the king, that his minister was playing a double game with him. The symptoms of approaching disgrace now became too palpable to escape the notice of the cardinal; for all parties joined either openly or privately to destroy him who had so long enjoyed the favour of the king. It was a singular coincidence that the friends both of Queen Catherine and Anne Boleyn were employed as instruments of his overthrow. On the 9th of October 1529 a prosecution was commenced against him for procuring bulls from Rome without the king's license. On the 17th of the same month the great seal was taken from him and given to Sir Thomas More. On the 1st of December the lords presented an address to the king, in which were embodied various articles of accusation against the cardinal; and notwithstanding that the more serious parts of the charge were refuted by his servant Thomas Cromwell, the court at last pronounced him to be beyond the protection of the law, and "that his lands, goods, and chattels were forfeited, and that his person was at the mercy of the king." Wolsey had confessed his offence against the statute of praemunire, of which he was technically guilty, History, inasmuch as he had received the bulls without a formal license. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the sentence pronounced was most unjust; for the bulls had been obtained with the consent and for the service of his ungrateful master, under whose eye they had been executed for years without a word being uttered as to the manner in which they had been obtained. But nothing could now save the cardinal. He was at once hurled from his place of pride and power, and fell, with his vast possessions, a helpless victim, into the hands of the king. But it would appear that, from habit perhaps, Henry still cherished a feeling of partiality for his old favourite, and sent him from time to time tokens of his esteem and regard. In February 1530 Wolsey was actually pardoned, and restored to his see of Winchester, and to some other emoluments. Even the great diocese of York was shortly afterwards restored; but at the moment when he was making magnificent preparations for his installation on the archiepiscopal throne, he was arrested at Cawood on a charge of high treason. His health was infirm, and during his journey from York he was seized with a dysentery, which confined him for some time at the seat of Lord Shrewsbury. As soon as he was able he mounted his mule and resumed the journey. But his strength rapidly declined, and he was compelled to take refuge in the abbey of Leicester, where he expired on the 29th of November 1530, in the sixtieth year of his age.

After the death of Wolsey, the king, by the advice of his ministers, had the legality of his marriage debated in all the universities of Europe. (See the article Cranmer.) By dint of money he succeeded in obtaining their votes in his favour, but not without a stubborn opposition. Backed by these judgments, Henry appealed to the pope; but Clement remained inflexible, and the king prepared to resist the papacy, though not yet to separate himself entirely from the church of Rome. In 1532 Cranmer was elevated to the archbishopric of Canterbury; and early in the following year Henry privately married Anne, and thus himself determined the long debated topic. A few months afterwards he openly solemnized his marriage with Anne, who went in state with him as queen. On the 23rd of May Cranmer pronounced, not a divorce, but a sentence that the king's marriage with Catherine had been and was a nullity, because it had been contracted and consummated against the divine law; and not long afterwards he confirmed the marriage of the king with the Lady Anne, whose coronation was performed in the most gorgeous manner on the first of June 1533. (See Boleyn.) The unfortunate Catherine, perceiving all further opposition to be vain, retired to Ampthill, near Dunstable, where she remained for the rest of her days in privacy and peace.

The pope was no sooner informed of these proceedings, than he passed a sentence declaring Catherine to be the king's only lawful wife; requiring him to take her again, and denouncing censures against him in the event of refusal. Henry, on the other hand, knowing that his subjects were entirely at his command, resolved to separate altogether from the church of Rome. In the year 1534 he was declared head of the church by parliament; the authority of the pope was completely abolished in England; all tributes formerly payable to the holy see were declared illegal; and the king was intrusted with the collation to all ecclesiastical benefices. The nation readily entered into the king's measures, and took an oath called the oath of supremacy; all the authority which the popes had maintained over England for ages was overthrown at a blow; and none seemed to repine at the change except those who, from their dependence upon Rome, were immediately interested.

But though the king thus separated from the church of Rome, he by no means adhered to the doctrines of Luther which had been lately promulgated. He had himself written a book against this celebrated reformer, which the pope pretended greatly to admire, and honoured King Henry, on this account, with the title of Defender of the Faith. This character he seemed to be determined to maintain, and therefore persecuted the reformers most violently. Many were burnt for denying the Catholic doctrines, and some also were executed for maintaining the supremacy of the pope. The courtiers knew not which side to take, both the new and old religions being equally persecuted; and as both parties equally courted the favour of the king, he was by that means enabled to assume an absolute authority over the nation.

The established clergy co-operated actively in the revolution which was in progress. Six bishops sanctioned by their vote every blow which was struck at the power of Rome; and fourteen abbots were usually present when the number of temporal peers who attended were somewhat more than forty. "They did not shrink," says Sir James Mackintosh, "from the deposition of Catherine, by reducing her title to that of Princess Dowager of Wales. By ratifying the marriage of Anne Boleyn they adopted those parts of the king's conduct which most disgusted the people. The bill for subjecting the clergy to the king, as their sole head, was so favourably treated as in one day to be read three times and passed: no division appears to have taken place on these measures."

The attention of the king was now turned to Elizabeth Bostan, a nun in the priory of St Sepulchre at Canterbury, who believed herself endowed with the power of working miracles, and foretelling future events. Several clergymen and other gentlemen of Kent believed in her mission; and some individuals of the highest order, both of intellect and piety, gave credit to her pretensions. She was subject to convulsions; and in the trances into which she frequently fell, visions of a marvellous nature were vouchsafed to her, which turned of course upon the extraordinary events taking place around her. She was tried and executed for high treason, and her abettors were arraigned on the same charge. Fisher, bishop of Rochester, was attainted by the act against this modern Pythagoras; but by a separate statute he was afterwards attainted of misprision of treason, for not having taken the oath to the succession. He was eminent for his learning and virtue, and probably his life would have been saved had not the pope sent him a cardinal's hat while in prison, which roused the jealousy of Henry. The remorseless tyrant ordered him to be executed, at the same time remarking, with his usual heartlessness, that the pope might send him a hat, but that Fisher should have no head to wear it. Another deed of blood was perpetrated a short time afterwards, which alone is calculated to consign the name of Henry VIII. to the execration of all future times. Sir Thomas More, the first Englishman of his day, one who had exalted the nation in the eyes of Europe, and whose fame was universal, was tried and executed for misprision of treason, in not taking the oath to maintain the succession. The legal pretext, if there was any, for the accusation, was grounded on the obnoxious clause of a recent act, which made it treason "to do any thing by writing or act which was to the slander, disturbance, or prejudice of the marriage with the Lady Anne, or to the dishonour or disturbance of the king's heirs by her." Both More and History. Fisher had abstained from either affirming or denying, first, that Henry's marriage with Catherine was invalid; secondly, that his marriage with Anne was valid; and, thirdly, they refused to disclaim all foreign authority in the kingdom, spiritual authority included. After his condemnation Sir Thomas avowed that he had studied the question for seven years, and could not escape from the conclusion that the king's marriage with Catherine was valid. For this scrupulous conscientiousness he expired upon the scaffold on the 7th of July 1535.

This wanton shedding of righteous blood excited the utmost indignation in foreign countries, particularly in Italy. Here Giovio, an historian, compared the tyranny of Henry to that almost supernatural wickedness which the Grecian legends had embodied under the appellation of Phalaris. Other individuals lashed the tyranny of the English monarch with the utmost rigour, and lamented, in strains of affecting eloquence, the fate of More, whom they designated the martyr of unshaken probity. Amongst the most eminent of these writers was Cardinal Pole, an Englishman, allied to the royal family.

Catherine, the former consort of Henry, expired at Kimbolton in the beginning of January 1536, having died as she had lived, mild, forgiving, and resigned. On her deathbed she wrote a most affectionate letter to her husband, whose iron nerves were touched by the perusal of it. His less prudent queen had the levity to express her satisfaction at the event. But if she expected that it would in any way be conducive to her further happiness, and a more devoted attachment on the part of her husband, she was most miserably disappointed. She soon after gave birth to a still-born child, and her brutal lord is said to have reproached her upon the occasion for the loss of his boy. His desire for male issue, and his repeated disappointments, seem to have at last weaned the affections of the fickle monarch from the idol whom he had worshipped with so much devotedness and ardour. A new passion had kindled in his breast, the object of which was Jane Seymour, a young lady of the queen's bed-chamber, which office Anne herself had held in that of Catherine. The circumstances connected with the queen's arrest may be briefly stated. On May-day 1536 a tilting match was held at Greenwich, in which her brother was the chief challenger, and Norris, groom of the stole, the opposing defendant. The queen having dropped her handkerchief, he gallantly handed it up to her by Norris, who was supposed to be her lover. The jealousy of the king burst out; he left the joust precipitately; and ere night his queen had passed through an examination, and was committed a prisoner. Such was the trifle "light as air," which to the jealous mind of Henry seemed a "confirmation strong as proofs of holy writ." By the researches of Mr Turner it has been discovered, that some days before the tournament certain individuals were appointed to inquire into the alleged misdeeds of Anne. The commission put their authority into execution upon the 10th of May, when a grand jury of Westminster was assembled. The charge against her was adultery, and its consequence in such a case, treason. Whether innocent or not, the unhappy Anne was deserted in her utmost need, and had not a friend to counsel her in this alarming emergency. On the day after the queen was committed to the Tower, Cranmer had written to the king imploring the king's mercy towards her, "his life so late, and sole delight;" but in vain. The archbishop had been forbidden to approach the court until desired by the king. The subsequent proceedings were as rapid as they were terrible. On the 12th of May, Norris, Weston, Brereton, and Smeaton, were tried in Westminster Hall for the crime of high treason. Smeaton pleaded guilty to the charge; the others resisted, but were convicted. Three days afterwards the House of Lords assembled for the trial of the queen. She was without counsel, and attended only by her ladies. Anne defended herself with modesty and firmness, but, upon evidence of which no traces now remain, she was condemned to suffer death. On hearing the sentence of her judges, she raised up her hands and exclaimed, "O Father and Creator! O thou who art the way, the truth, and the life! thou knowest that I have not deserved this death." It is difficult to reconcile such an ejaculation with a consciousness of guilt. She afterwards turned to her judges, and made a serious protestation of her innocence. On the 17th of May the other individuals who had been convicted were carried forth to execution. Smeaton, who had confessed to the guilt, probably from an erroneous impression that he would by this means save his life, was the last to suffer. Anne's brother Rochford was also tried and condemned on the same day with herself, and was executed with the others. The curtain dropped upon this horrible tragedy with the death of the queen, who was beheaded on the day after her supposed accomplices had suffered. For further particulars respecting this unhappy personage, see BOLEYN.

That Henry sacrificed his queen in a fit of vindictive resentment against her, who, he too rashly believed, had dishonoured him, is all that can be urged in his favour. That he really believed her guilty, must also in common fairness be allowed. To think otherwise would be to attaint his name with one of the most horrid enormities that ever disgraced the annals of crime. It seems very improbable that the violent attachment which he had all along entertained for her should have cooled so suddenly, and been supplanted by such deadly hate, without supposing that some levities in the conduct of Queen Anne had fired his jealous soul, and roused him to demand her blood as an expiation for the guilt imputed to her. But he was not content with taking away her life under the charge of adultery and incest; he deprived her of the name and the right of wife and queen, and bastardized the daughter which she had born him, even when he acknowledged that daughter to be his own. His contempt for her memory was displayed in a manner which could be believed of few other individuals. He dressed himself in white on the day of her execution, and actually married Jane Seymour next morning.

In bringing this tale of blood to a termination, we have unavoidably outrun several important events. When the news of Sir Thomas More's execution reached the court of Rome, a bull was prepared against Henry. In this extraordinary instrument were embodied all the offences of the English monarch against the papal see, and he was allowed ninety days, and his factors and abettors sixty, to repent, and to appear at Rome either in person or by attorney. In case of default, he was to be excommunicated, and deprived of his crown; his children by Anne were to be rendered incapable of inheriting for several generations; his subjects were to be absolved from their allegiance to him; and all treaties and alliances between him and other powers were to be null and void. This thunderbolt, however, though forged for the purpose of punishing the king's apostacy, it was resolved should be suppressed for a time, and lodged in the papal armory until a more favourable opportunity should occur for launching it at the royal culprit. The election of Henry as supreme A second visitation of the monasteries took place shortly afterwards. Various circumstances had occurred to exasperate Henry against the Catholic clergy; and the alarming revolts, at which priests had presided, and principally instigated the people by their inflammatory addresses, were of a nature to inflame such a combustible temper as his. In this second spoliation, the richest and most revered shrines were pillaged and destroyed, and the sacred relics, objects of so much superstitious veneration, were held up to the derision of the public. Various historians have enumerated a great number of these, and some of them are certainly calculated to excite surprise at the depth of that superstitious feeling which could induce a people to believe that the parings of St. Edmund's toes, or the felt of St. Thomas of Lancaster, or the shirt of St. Thomas of Canterbury, were infallible remedies for certain disorders. On this occasion the shrine of the latter saint was demolished, and the wealth which it yielded was enormous. These shrines were pillaged, on the allegation, too often true, that they were scenes of imposture, where miracles were pretended to be wrought. The king, on the whole, suppressed upwards of six hundred monasteries, above two thousand chantries and free chapels, and about two hundred colleges and hospitals. The confiscation was closed by a statute passed in 1539, which provided that "all monasteries, and other religious houses, dissolved, suppressed, surrendered, renounced, relinquished, forfeited, or by any means come to his highness, shall be vested in him, his heirs and successors, for ever." It must be owned, that although great abuses may have been detected, revenue not reformation, plunder not punishment, were the objects which the visitors had in view. With respect to the important question regarding property, involved in this measure, we shall avail ourselves of the remarks of Sir James Mackintosh on the subject.

Thus was completed the confiscation of a fifth, or a fourth part of the landed property of England and Wales within the space of five years. It may be a fit moment therefore to pause here, in order calmly and shortly to review some of the weighty questions which were involved in this measure. There is no need of animadverting upon the means by which it was effected, though we must assent to the affirmation of a great man, "that an end which has no means but such as are bad, is a bad end." But the general question may be best considered, keeping out of view any of those attendant misdeeds which excite a very honest indignation, but which disturb the operation of the judgment. Property is legal possession. Whoever exercises a certain portion of power over any outward thing in a manner which, by the laws of the country, entitles him to an exclusive enjoyment of it, is deemed a proprietor. But property, which is generally deemed to be the incentive to industry, the guardian of order, the preserver of internal quiet, the channel of friendly intercourse between men and nations, and, in a higher point of view, as affording leisure for the pursuit of knowledge, means for the exercise of generosity, occasions for the returns of gratitude; as being one of the ties which join succeeding generations, strengthening domestic discipline, and keeping up the affections of the kindred; above all, because it is the principle to which all men adapt their plans of life, and on the faith of whose permanency every human action is performed; is an institution of so high and transcendent a nature, that every government which does not serve, "I cannot find any proof that it was ever published at all." Sir James Mackintosh is silent upon the point. Mr. Turner, in his History of the Reign of Henry VIII., says, that in 1539 "it was given unblushingly to the world." This last order recites, that it had been suspended for three years on the persuasion of some princes—Cherubini, 623. In order to reconcile these conflicting statements, it may perhaps be supposed that it never was "published at all" in England, although it may have been "given unblushingly to the world" in other countries. protect it, nay, that does not rigorously punish its infraction, must be guilty of a violation of the first duties of just rulers. The common feelings of human nature have applied to it the epithets of sacred and inviolable. Property varies in the extent of the powers which it confers, according to the various laws of different states. Its duration, its descent, its acquisition, its alienation, depend solely upon these laws. But all laws consider what is held or transmitted agreeably to their rules as alike possessing the character of inviolable sacredness. There may be, and there is, property for a term of years, for life, or for ever. It may be absolute as to the exercise of the proprietor's rights, or it may be conditional; or, in other words, held only as long as certain conditions are performed. There are specimens of all these sorts of property in the codes of most civilized nations. But in all these cases the essence of property is preserved, which consists in such a share or kind of power as the laws confer. The advantages may be extremely unequal. The inviolable right must, by the force of the terms, continue perfectly equal.

The legal limits of the authority of the supreme legislature are not a reasonable object of inquiry, nor indeed an intelligible form of expression. But to conclude that, because the law may in some cases be said to create property, the law is to be deemed on that account as entitled rightfully to take it away, is a proposition founded on a gross confusion of two very distinguishable conceptions. It uses the word property in the premises for a system of rules, and in the conclusion for a portion of external nature, of which the dominion is acquired by the observance of these rules. It is only in the first of these senses that property can be truly called the creature of law. In the second sense it is acquired or transmitted, not by law, but by the acts of a man, when the acts are conformable to legal rules. It is impossible within our present limits to canvass the small or apparent objections which may occur to this scheme of reasoning. It is sufficient, perhaps, here to remark, that these are the generally acknowledged principles, and that deviations from them in practice are no more than partial irregularities, to which the disturbing forces of passion and interest expose human society.

The clergy, though for brevity sometimes called a corporation, were rather an order in the state composed of many corporations. Their share of the national wealth was immense, consisting of land devised by pious men, and of a tenth part of the produce of the soil set apart by the customary law of Europe, for the support of the parochial clergy. Each clergyman had only in this case an estate for life, to which, during its continuance, the essential attribute of inviolable possession was as firmly annexed by law as if it had been perpetual. The corporate body was supposed to endure till it was abolished in some of the forms previously and specially provided for by law.

For one case, however, of considerable perplexity there was neither law nor precedent to light the way. Whenever the supreme power deemed itself bound to change the established church, or even materially to alter the distribution of its revenues, a question necessarily arose concerning the moral boundaries of legislative authority in such cases. It was not, indeed, about a legal boundary; for no specific limit can be assigned to its right of exacting obedience within the national territory. The question was, what governments could do morally and righteously, what it is right for them to do, and what they would be enjoined to do by a just superior, if such a personage could be found among their fellow-men. At first it may seem that the lands should be restored to the heirs of the original grantor; But no provision for such a reversion was made in the grant; no expectation of its occurrence was entertained by their descendants; no habit or plan of life had been formed on the probability of it. The grantors or founders had left their property to certain bodies under the guardian power of the commonwealth, without the reserve of any remainder to those who, after the lapse of centuries, might prove themselves to be their representatives. It is a case not very dissimilar to that of an individual who died without discoverable heirs, and whose property for that reason falls to the state. It appeared, therefore, meet and righteous that in this new case, after the expiration of the estates for life, the property granted for a purpose no longer deemed good or the best, should be applied by the legislature to other purposes which they considered as better. But the sacredness of the life estates is an essential condition of the justice of such measures. No man thinks an annuity for life less inviolable during his life, than a portion of land granted to him and to his heirs for ever. That estate might, indeed, be forfeited by a misperformance of duty; but perfect good faith is in such a case more indispensable than in most others. Fraud can convey no title; false pretences justify no acts. There were gross abuses in the monasteries; but it was not for their offences that the monastic communities fell. The most commendable application of their revenues would have been to purposes as like those for which they were granted as the changes in religious opinion would allow. These were religious instruction and learned education. Some faint efforts were made to apply part to the foundation of new bishoprics; but this was only to cover the profusion with which the produce of rapine was lavished on courtiers and noblemen, to purchase their support of the confiscations, and to ensure their zeal and that of their descendants against the restoration of popery.

It is a melancholy truth, and may be considered by some as a considerable objection to the principles which have been thus shortly expounded, that if in the seizure of abbey lands the life estates had been spared, the monks, who were the main stay of papal despotism, and the most deadly foes of all reform, would have had arms in their hands which might have rendered them irresistible. It must perhaps be acknowledged, that it was more necessary to the security of Henry's partial reformation to strip the monasteries at that moment, than to dissolve communities which a better regulation might in future reconcile to the new system.

We are assured by Sir Thomas More, "that in all the time while he was conversant with the court, of all the nobility of this land he found no more than seven that thought it right or reasonable to take away their possessions from the clergy." So inconsiderable was the original number of those who, not many years after, accomplished an immense revolution in property.

To which it must be answered, that the observance of justice is more necessary than security for any institution; that many regulations might have stood instead of one deed of rapine; that the milder expedients would have provoked fewer and more reconcilable enemies; that if, on the whole, they afford less security, the legislature were at least bound to try all means before they who were appointed to be the guardians of right set the example of so great a wrong. Rulers can never render so lasting a service to a people as by the example, in a time of danger, of justice to formidable enemies, and of mercy to obnoxious delinquents. These are glorious examples, for which much is to be hazarded.

Henry had now so far separated himself from the communion of Rome, that it became in some measure necessary for him to concoct a creed of his own. The The clergy were divided into two factions, denominated the men of the old and the new learning. The chief of the former was Gardiner bishop of Winchester, who was supported by Lee archbishop of York; Stokesley bishop of London, Tunstall of Durham, and Clarke of Bath and Wells. The latter acknowledged as leaders, Cranmer archbishop of Canterbury, Haxton of Sarum, Latimer of Worcester, and Fox of Hereford. These could depend on the powerful interest of Cromwell the vicar-general; and of Audley the lord chancellor; those on that of the duke of Norfolk, and of Wriothesley the premier-secretary. Various long debates took place upon the new creed, but it was neither completed nor sufficiently fenced round with suitable penalties, till an act was passed by the parliament, which sat in April 1539, entitled "an act for abolishing diversity of opinions." This convocation was opened by the chancellor informing the House of Lords that it was his majesty's earnest desire to extirpate from his kingdom all diversity of opinions with regard to religion; and as this enterprise was, he owned, difficult and important, he desired them to choose a committee from amongst themselves, who might frame certain articles, and communicate these afterwards to parliament. The lords named the vicar-general Cromwell, now created a peer; the Archbishops of Canterbury and York; and the Bishops of Durham, Carlisle, Worcester, Bath and Wells, Bangor, and Ely. But this small committee itself was agitated with such diversity of opinions that it could come to no conclusion. The Duke of Norfolk then moved, that since there was no hope of having a report from the committee, the articles of faith proposed to be established should be reduced to six; and a new committee be appointed to frame an act respecting them. As this peer was understood to speak the king's mind, his motion was immediately complied with; and, after a short prorogation, the bill of the six articles was introduced, and, having passed the two houses, received the king's assent. By this law the doctrine of the real presence was established, the communion in one kind, the perpetual obligation of vows of chastity, the utility of private masses, the celibacy of the clergy, and, lastly, the necessity of auricular confession. The denial of the real presence was punishable with death by fire, and the same forfeiture as in cases of treason, and admitted not the privilege of abjuring; an unheard of cruelty, unknown even to the inquisition itself. The denial of any of the other articles, even though afterwards recanted, was punishable by the forfeiture of goods and chattels, and imprisonment during the king's pleasure. An obstinate adherence to error, or a relapse, was adjudged to be felony, and subjected the delinquent to death. The marriage of priests was punished in the same manner. Their commerce with women was, for the first offence, forfeiture and imprisonment; and for the second, death. Abstaining from confession, and from receiving the eucharist at the accustomed times, subjected the person to fine, and to imprisonment during the king's pleasure; and if the criminal persevered after conviction, he was to suffer death and forfeiture, as in cases of felony. Commissioners were to be appointed by the king, for inquiring into these heresies and irregular practices, and the criminals were to be tried by a jury.

Henry had now been a widower for above two years. In 1537 Jane Seymour, his third queen, had born him a son, afterwards Edward VI.; but she herself expired in less than a fortnight afterwards. The king afterwards made proposals of marriage to several foreign princesses, and others, without success. Under these repeated disappointments, he readily listened to the suggestions of Cromwell, who proposed to him Anne, sister of the Duke of Cleves, a considerable prince on the Lower Rhine, who had lately established Lutheranism in his principality. This choice showed the leaning of his secretary's mind, and the progress of men in general towards reformation. Henry had seen a painting by Holbein of this lady. The artist had invested her with fictitious charms, which captivated the sensual monarch, and inspired him with such eagerness to behold her, that he proceeded to Dover, where she was to disembark, his mind no doubt swelling with pleasing anticipations. But he was miserably disappointed, and could not conceal his chagrin. She was indeed of the standard dimensions, being large and tall as his heart could desire; for stature had now become an indispensable qualification in the individual who should aspire to gain the affections of the king of England. Without entering into the disgusting particulars connected with his marriage with Anne of Cleves, it is sufficient to state that the nuptials were solemnized, and that the lady was treated, not as a wife, but as a friend. The distress of Henry was great, and at last drew the attention of the House of Lords to the subject on the 6th of July 1540. These obsequious peers entreated him to make inquiry into the validity of his marriage with the Lady Anne of Cleves; and the Commons having concurred with them, the king granted their prayer. Of course this drama was all arranged, and the characters cast; some days before the meeting of parliament. The convocation appointed to examine into the matter declared the marriage to be null by the consent of Lady Anne herself, which was insured by the grant of an income of £3000 annually; and the lady, it would appear, lived comfortably on her annuity for sixteen years in England. The bill for the nullity was passed by both houses, and received the royal assent on the 24th of July 1540. About a fortnight afterwards the king married his fourth wife, Catherine Howard, niece to the Duke of Norfolk. But let us look back upon the fate of Cromwell, who was instrumental in procuring the former union. It was indispensably necessary that the revolution which took place in Henry VIII.'s palace and bed should in some way or another be marked with blood. The arrest, condemnation, and execution of Cromwell, is another of those cruel and tyrannical measures which have entailed accumulated odium upon the name of Henry VIII. A bill to attain the vicar-general of high treason was brought into parliament in June 1540; and before the end of the month it had passed through both houses. He was charged with heresy because he had favoured the new doctrines; and with treason because he had performed several acts of royal authority without the warrant of the king. Cromwell was condemned unheard, and executed in about a month afterwards. This was an act of gross injustice; but it was far from being unpopular. The nobility were glad to be rid of an individual who had raised himself from the shop of a fuller to the highest offices of state; and the Roman Catholic party, who were the most numerous, and had regained much of their ascendancy, rejoiced at the fall of one who was the active conductor of that system of confiscation which struck such a blow at their power in England. In that business he certainly must have connived at much rapine and robbery, which it was out of his power to prevent. He has also been charged with Machiavelian policy; but there is no satisfactory evidence that he was unfaithful to his sovereign. Like Wolsey, he seems to have served his king more faithfully than his God; and it is remarkable that he fell into his own snare, having repeatedly shown the example of attainder without trial.

At this period the act of the six articles was in the fullest vigour of its cruelty; and many iniquitous executions took place. One of the most horrid of these was that of Courtenay marquis of Exeter, with Lord Montague and Sir Ed... History, ward Nevil. They were descended from Edward IV., and this seems to have constituted their only crime. Towards the close of 1538 they were first arrested and committed to the Tower; and shortly afterwards the Countess Margaret, the mother of the Poles, was also taken into custody. Exeter was charged with the offence of having conspired to raise Reginald Pole to the throne. This individual, best known as a cardinal, was the son of the above-named lady, who was daughter of the Duke of Clarence. Her son's life was principally passed in Italy, where he was much celebrated for his talents; and Henry appears to have been proud of him, for he munificently discharged his expenses. Their friendship, however, terminated with the king's divorce from Catherine, which the English monarch vainly besought Pole to sanction. The revenge of Henry, who seems now to have thought that without the shedding of blood there could be no remission of offences, fell upon the mother of the cardinal, and the last of the Plantagenets. She was attainted of high treason, and sent to prison, as above noticed. The noblemen committed about the same time were soon afterwards executed; but the lady lingered two years in confinement, and was at last conducted to the scaffold on the 27th of May 1541, where, to complete the horror of the transaction, from mismanagement on the part of the executioner, her neck was horribly mangled, and her grey hairs, clotted with blood, fell dishevelled over her face ere the bloody act was consummated.

To return to the domestic affairs of Henry, he had not been many months married to Catherine Howard before he received such information of her dissolute life before marriage as induced him to suspect that she might still continue it, and to cause a rigid inquiry to be made into her conduct. There was no doubt as to her vices previously to her union with the king; and some acts of indiscretion after it were also brought home to her; but the details are too disgusting for human feelings. Cranmer was one of the individuals employed to communicate information to the king; and although there is no evidence that he was ever guilty of a malicious or vindictive act, yet he sometimes wanted the courage to resist crimes; and the slavish manner in which he, along with the rest of the ministers and parliament in general, bowed to the despotic will of the king, cannot be extenuated.

Two of Catherine's paramours were arrested, and confessed their crimes; and the queen herself acknowledged her guilt previously to the marriage, but denied having committed any act of infidelity subsequently thereto. This, however, was not believed; and on the 14th of February 1542 she was executed in the Tower, along with Lady Rochford, who in some way or another was implicated as an accomplice in the guilt of the queen.

To attain without trial had now become fashionable; but to punish with death that which was not made criminal by any former statute, was altogether new. To countenance such severities as those which had lately taken place, it was enacted in the very bill of attainder, that every woman about to be married to the king or his successors, not being a maid, should disclose her unchastity to him, under the penalty of treason; that any person knowing the fact and not disclosing it, should be subject to the lesser penalty of misprision of treason; and that the commission of adultery by the queen or wife of the prince should be punishable with death.

These laws afforded some amusement to the people, who now said that the king must look out for a widow, as no reputed maid would be disposed to offer herself whilst such a dreadful statute was suspended over her head. This in reality took place, for on the 10th of July 1543 Henry espoused Catherine Parr, the widow of Lord Latimer, and a lady of mature age. She had read Lutheran History books, and was inclined to support the doctrines of the reformers. She even went so far as to enter into controversy with her imperious lord, who valued himself not a little on his theological knowledge. He ordered Wriothesley and Gardiner to give orders for her imprisonment, and to prepare articles of impeachment against her. The third Catherine had very nearly been honoured with a place upon the list of victims which were sacrificed by this Blue Beard of the west, but she evaded the blow by her ingenuity and tact. During the remainder of her life, however, she never again ventured to provoke the vengeance of the royal polemic.

As head of the church, the attention of the king was now principally turned to the management of its affairs. He enforced an observance of the six articles both by Protestants and Catholics, and any deviation from them was punished with tyrannical severity. He was very impartial in his distribution of what he called justice; and it was not uncommon for individuals professing opposite faiths to perish at the same stake. The Christian of those days had a difficult part to perform; for whilst the king renounced in one respect the authority of the pope, he acknowledged it in another by his adherence to the doctrines of the church of Rome; so that it frequently happened that those who were against the head of it were burned, and those who were for him were hanged. In connection with church affairs, Henry effected a further dissolution of colleges, hospitals, and other foundations of that nature, with the spoils of which he enriched his treasury. He also extorted from many bishops a surrender of their chapter lands, and in this manner he succeeded in pillaging the sees of Canterbury, of York, and of London. Amongst the religious orders suppressed was that of the Knights of Malta, or, more properly, St John of Jerusalem. They obstinately refused to surrender along with the other monasteries who laid their rights at the feet of the king, and he was compelled to have recourse to parliament for the purpose of obtaining its authority for dissolving the order, which was very rich, and whose spoil was therefore precious in his sight.

For the purpose of maintaining a rigid purity in speculative principles, he nominated a commission of divines to make out a creed for the benefit of his subjects. In connection with this appointment a circumstance occurred which strongly marks the character of this reign, as well as of those who composed the council of the nation. Before the reverend conclave had made any progress in its arduous undertaking, the parliament passed a law which went to ratify all the tenets which the divines might establish in accordance with the king's consent. This clearly shows that the individuals composing that body, as well as the parliament, were merely cipher, and that Henry was the initial unit which gave them value. A small volume was published under the title of The Institution of a Christian Man, which was made the infallible standard of orthodoxy. But the king's inconsistency was as strikingly exemplified in his religion as in his morals. A new book was ordered to be composed, and three years were spent before it could be brought to that desirable state of perfection which the king wished. At length, however, it came forth under the title of A Necessary Doctrine and Eradication for any Christened Man; and in order to distinguish it from the former work upon the same subject, it was called emphatically the king's book. It taught the same doctrines as the preceding compilation, with the addition of transubstantiation and the sufficiency of communion under one kind. The new creed was generally approved of, and all writings in opposition to it were prohibited. From the period of the publication of the "king's Henry VIII. followed that of Surrey to the judgment-seat; and Norfolk, after remaining in prison for several years, was at length set at liberty.

Henry VIII. is one of the most repulsive sovereigns to be met with in the list of English kings. There is a gross brutality about the man, and a remorseless tyranny and blood-thirstiness about the king, which totally obscure any human features which his character may have possessed. Some of his crimes are of so dark a dye, and so peculiarly diabolical, as to make the mind shudder at the very mention of his name. It is difficult to extend charity to, or rank with ordinary humanity, one who could repeatedly hurry from his arms to the scaffold those whom he had loved and embraced with passionate tenderness, if such language may be used in reference to any feeling which animated the breast of such a barbarian. It was after the fall of Wolsey that the prominent features of Henry's moral deformity fully developed themselves; and they are such as have attached to his name a degradation which can neither be removed nor palliated. For the good which he was the means of doing, in sanctioning a reformation in the affairs of the church, he deserves no credit; for it originated in a spirit of vindictive revenge, and was perpetuated by plunder and cruelty. Henry was not destitute of ability; and the esteem which we may infer he entertained for literature, since he patronised learning, is one of the few traits of his character which are not repulsive and odious.

Henry was succeeded by his only son Edward, a boy of nine years of age. He was proclaimed king of England on the 31st of January 1547, and crowned in the month following. The most remarkable transactions of his reign are those connected with religion. The restraint which Henry VIII. had laid upon the Protestants was now taken off; and they not only maintained their doctrines openly, but soon became the prevailing party. Henry had fixed the majority of his son at eighteen years of age; and, in the mean time, appointed sixteen executors of his will, to whom, during the minority, he entrusted the government of the king and kingdom. But the first act of the executors was to choose the Earl of Hertford, afterwards Duke of Somerset, protector of the realm; and in him was lodged all the regal power, together with a privilege of naming his own privy council.

The Duke of Somerset had long been numbered amongst the secret partisans of the reformers; and, immediately on his elevation to his high dignity, he began to express his intention of reforming the abuses of the ancient religion. Under his direction and that of Cranmer, therefore, the reformation was vigorously carried forward; persecutions under the act of the six articles ceased, prisoners were released, and exiles were recalled. Homilies were composed by Cranmer, and ordered to be read by parish priests to their congregations. Visitors were appointed to inspect ecclesiastical establishments, and see that four sermons were yearly preached against the papal authority; that the worship of images should be denounced, and those who were the objects of pilgrimages and offerings should be destroyed; that the English Bible, with Erasmus's commentary on the gospels, should be placed in every church for the use of the people; together with many other points, which, without being very important in themselves, were calculated to assure the people that the government was no longer neutral in matters of religion. The principal person who opposed these innovations was Gardiner bishop of Winchester; a man of great learning, abilities, and resolution, but one of Henry's devoted agents in the suit for a divorce from Catherine, his first queen. He made a manly and becoming resistance to these injunc- astical discipline. To the disgrace of their own principles, the reformers now displayed as virulent a spirit of persecution as the Catholics had formerly done. Gardiner was committed to the Fleet prison, where he was treated with great severity. He was afterwards sent to the Tower; and having continued there two years, he was commanded to subscribe several articles, amongst which was one confessing the justice of his own imprisonment. To all the articles but this he agreed to subscribe; but that did not give satisfaction. He was then committed to close custody; his books and papers were seized; all company was denied him; and he was not even permitted the use of writing materials. Bonner of London, more violent and more subservient, escaped protracted imprisonment by obsequious submission. Several bishops also screened themselves by sacrificing a considerable share of their revenues; others were deprived of their offices; and Tunstal bishop of Durham, an eminent prelate, was ejected from the privy council, in order to impress on the people by a strong example the disinclination of the protector to the ancient faith. In November 1547 a parliament was assembled, in which several bills were passed to promote and enlarge the reformation. The communion was appointed to be received in both kinds by the laity as well as by the clergy, without condemning the usages of other churches. Bishops were to be nominated by the king, and process was to run in the king's name in ecclesiastical courts. The statutes against the Lollards were repealed, as well as all the acts of Henry VIII. upon religious matters, excepting those directed against the supremacy of the pope; and other acts relating to civil affairs were also abrogated. In the next session uniformity in public worship was established, in which the use of the book of common prayer, as prepared by the primate and his brethren, was enjoined. This composition is the foundation of that which, having undergone various alterations in subsequent reigns, continues in use at the present day. By one law the observance of fast days and of Lent was enjoined under penalties; and by another, the English clergy were emancipated from compulsory celibacy.

The rest of this reign presents little but the history of the intrigues and cabals of courtiers. There was a war with Scotland, which began with injustice and was conducted with inhumanity. Insurrections also took place in Ireland, where the reformation made no progress. The details of these transactions will be given in the articles SCOTLAND and IRELAND. The protector was first opposed by his own brother Admiral Sir Thomas Seymour, who had married Catherine Parr, the late king's widow. She died soon after the marriage; and the widower is said to have then paid his addresses to the Princess Elizabeth. His brother the duke, who was at that time in the north, being informed of his ambitious projects, speedily returned, had him attainted of high treason, and at last condemned and executed. The Duke of Somerset himself, however, became unpopular, and a powerful confederacy was formed against him, at the head of which was Dudley earl of Warwick. This nobleman succeeded in overthrowing the power of the protector, and getting him committed to prison on the 18th of October 1549, whilst he himself was installed in the office of lord high admiral. In the month of February following, Somerset was released upon payment of a fine and ransom; but towards the end of 1551 he was again sent to the Tower, tried for high treason and felony, and condemned. He was acquitted of the first charge, but not of the second, as he ought to have been. He suffered upon the scaffold on the 22d of January 1552. Warwick, now duke of Northumberland, had thus the reins of government entirely at his own disposal. Not satisfied with the office of protector, he aimed at altering the succession, and placing the crown upon the head of his son. He represented to Edward, who was now in a declining state of health, that his sisters Mary and Elizabeth, who were appointed by Henry's will to succeed to the crown, in failure of direct heirs, had both been declared illegitimate by parliament; that the queen of Scots, his aunt, stood excluded by the king's will; and being also an alien, lost all right of succeeding. The three princesses being thus excluded, the succession naturally devolved upon the Marchioness of Dorset, eldest daughter of the French queen, Henry's sister, who had married the Earl of Suffolk after her first husband's death. The next heir to the marchioness was Lady Jane Grey, the wife of Northumberland's fourth son, Lord Guildford Dudley. The king, who was accustomed to submit to the politic views of this minister, agreed to have the succession altered, and sketched with his own hand a draft of the new destination of the crown, which was submitted to a council. The judges, however, were far from acquiescing in the proposal contained in this instrument; and they hesitated to sign it, because it would subject those who had drawn and those who had advised it to the penalties of treason. Their hesitation excited the rage of Northumberland, who threatened them with his authority, and, pronouncing them traitors, declared that he would fight in his shirt with any man in so just a cause as that of Lady Jane's succession. A new paper was drawn up, by which the judges were screened from any consequences which might have resulted from their signing of it. By the new patent for changing the succession, the princesses Mary and Elizabeth were set aside, and the crown settled upon the heirs of the Duchess of Suffolk, who was contented to forego her own claim.

For some time the king had languished under a pulmonary complaint, and symptoms of an advanced stage of consumption began to make their appearance. After the settlement of the crown, his health visibly declined every day, and little hopes were entertained of his recovery. The deathbed devotions of Edward bear testimony to his love for his subjects, and his zeal for what he believed to be the purest form of Christianity. "O Lord, save thy chosen people of England, defend this realm from papistry, and maintain thy true religion." Such is a specimen of the supplications which this pious and short-lived prince breathed forth. On the 6th of July 1553, Edward, being then in the sixteenth year of his age and seventh of his reign, breathed his last. Whilst he filled the throne of England, no Roman Catholic had suffered death on account of his religion. By his gentleness and docility he was indisposed to shed blood, and, on the whole, his reign was more free from religious persecution than any administration of the same length, in any great country of Europe, since the rise of protestantism. In abilities he was equal, probably superior, to most boys of his years; but the flattering praises lavished upon him by his panegyrists are to be received with abatements. It was his dying wish that Lady Jane Grey, the companion of his infancy, should be his successor.

The death of Edward was carefully concealed for two days; but on the 8th of July the event was communicated to the ambassadors, and the civic functionaries of London were ordered to make preparations for the coronation of Lady Jane Grey. The intelligence was transmitted to Mary by her friends at court, and on the 9th she wrote a letter to the privy council, expostulating with them upon their conduct; and, solemnly affirming her right, she tendered a pardon to them if they would order her immediate proclamation. The council, however, adhered to the interests of Jane, and both parties prepared to decide the contest by an appeal to arms. When Edward's death, and her own elevation to the throne, were announced to Lady Jane, she was thrown into a state of great agitation. The manner in which she was affected will be best understood from a passage in a letter of hers which she afterwards transmitted to Mary. "As soon as I had, with infinite pain to my mind, understood these things, how much I remained beside myself, stunned and agitated, I leave to those lords to testify who saw me fall to the ground, and who knew how grievously I wept." She urged the preferable claim of the princesses to inherit; but being pressed by the authority of the judges, she at length consented to accept of the royal dignity. She suffered herself to be conveyed to the Tower, and on the same day the heralds proclaimed the death of Edward and the succession of Jane. Mary was also proclaimed at Norwich, and it is somewhat singular that the populace took no interest in either of the proclamations. No shouts of applause or outward demonstrations of joy followed the announcement of the choice of a new sovereign. Northumberland was unpopular, a great part of the Protestants cooperated with the Catholic partisans of Mary, who were numerous and powerful; and the protector, by his supineness, allowed them to assemble in great force at Framlingham Castle, in Suffolk, where the princess had fixed her residence. Northumberland became alarmed, and although he had assembled a considerable army, his heart failed him when he saw the demonstrations which were made by the people in favour of Mary. He had taken the field in person, which was a fatal step; for his absence afforded an opportunity to the adherents of Mary who were in the council to make arrangements for exalting her to the royal dignity. It is sufficient to observe that they effected their purpose. Mary was proclaimed, and Jane, after a ten days reign, resigned the crown with a great deal more satisfaction than she had accepted of it. Northumberland had been compelled to proclaim Mary at Cambridge; but this did not prevent him from being led a prisoner to the Tower, which had lately been his palace.

Mary, accompanied by her sister Elizabeth, made her triumphal entry into London on the 3rd of August 1553. Her attentions were first turned towards those who had suffered in her cause. She released several prisoners from the Tower, amongst whom were the aged Duke of Norfolk, and her kinsman Edward Courtenay, whom she soon afterwards created Earl of Devonshire. On the 18th of August the Duke of Northumberland, the Marquis of Northampton, and the Earl of Warwick, were tried for high treason; and on the following day Sir John Gates, Sir Henry Gates, Sir Andrew Dudley, and Sir Thomas Palmer, were tried for the same offence. Of the culprits who were condemned, three were selected for execution; Northumberland, Sir John Gates, and Sir Thomas Palmer, who suffered upon the scaffold on the 22nd of August.

The mind of Mary now became solicitous about the affairs of religion. All the deprived Catholic bishops were restored. The acknowledged abilities of Gardiner soon raised him to the post of prime minister. He early received the custody of the seals, and not long afterwards he was appointed chancellor. The Protestant bishops, in the eyes of their Roman Catholic brethren, had incurred deprivation by marriage, or still more severe penalties by preaching heresy. On the 2nd of September Cranmer was committed to the Tower, and on the 13th Latimer followed him into the same captivity. The latter, in point of moral heroism, was the antipodes of Cranmer, who was gentle and kind, timid and plant. Latimer was brave, sincere, and inflexible. As he passed through Smithfield on his way to the Tower, he remarked, "Smithfield has long groaned for me." By an early proclamation Mary had declared that "she could not hide her religion; but that she mindeth not to compel any of her said subjects History, thereunto, until such time as a farther order by common consent shall be taken therein." The "farther order" did take place, although not in accordance with "common consent." On the 5th of October 1553, parliament assembled, and, in a session of nineteen days, passed only three acts; one for the abolition of all the treasons and felonies of Henry VIII.; another for the restoration in blood of Gertrude marchioness of Exeter; and a third for the like restitution of that lady's son, Edward Courtenay, now Earl of Devonshire. But on the 24th of the same month, several important acts were passed, by which the road was paved for the re-introduction of the Roman Catholic faith as the creed sanctioned by royalty. By these acts Henry's divorce was declared void, and his first marriage pronounced valid; so that the claim of Elizabeth, on whom the Protestants had fixed their eyes with anxious hope, was virtually set aside. But the progress of the revolution in religious matters was slow; and before the perfect re-union with the Church of Rome was consummated, several events of considerable importance took place. Mary having been crowned at Westminster with the usual solemnity on the last day of September 1553, it now became the interest of the Catholic party to obtain a suitable marriage for her. Of natives only two were proposed to her choice, both descended from the house of York; these were Cardinal Pole, and Edward Courtenay, the individual whom she had released from confinement. But the Emperor Charles having heard of Mary's intention to choose a husband, proposed his son Don Philip. This Spanish match was so broad and decisive a step towards Rome, that the House of Commons took the alarm, and presented an address to the queen, in order to dissuade her from her purpose. She returned a haughty answer; and on the 30th of October, having conducted the imperial minister into her private oratory, she there solemnly called God, to witness that she plighted her troth to Philip prince of Castile. To obviate all clamour, the articles of marriage were drawn up as favourably as possible for the interests of England. It was agreed that though Philip should have the title of king, the administration should be entirely in the queen; that no foreigner should be capable of holding any office in the kingdom, nor should any innovation be made in the laws, the customs, and the privileges of the people; and that Philip should not carry the queen abroad without her consent, or any of her children without the consent of the nobility. Sixty thousand pounds a year were to be settled upon her as a jointure, and the male issue of this marriage were to inherit Burgundy and the Low Countries as well as the crown of England; and in the event of the death of Don Carlos, Philip's son by his former marriage, without any heir, the queen's issue were also to inherit the rest of the Spanish dominions.

All these concessions, however, were not sufficient to quiet the apprehensions of the people. They were considered merely as words of course, which might be retracted at pleasure; and the nation murmured loudly against a transaction so dangerous to its ancient liberty and independence. The Duke of Suffolk, a zealous Protestant, attempted to excite his tenants in Warwickshire to revolt; but with little success. His followers were routed by Lord Huntingdon, and he himself was betrayed into the hands of his enemies. An insurrection was also raised by Sir Thomas Wyatt, a Roman Catholic, at the head of four thousand men, who set out from Kent to London, publishing a declaration against the Spanish match and the queen's evil counsellors. Having advanced as far as Southwark, he required that the queen should put the Tower of London into his hands; that she should deliver four counsellors as hostages; and that, in order to ensure the liberty of the nation, she should marry an Englishman. But his force was still by far too inconsiderable to support such magnificent pretensions, although it was afterwards augmented to fifteen thousand men; and he unluckily wasted so much time without attempting anything of importance, that the popular ferment entirely subsided, his followers gradually abandoned him, and he was at last obliged to surrender himself near Temple-Bar to Sir Maurice Berkeley, who committed him to the Tower, where, in a short time, he was joined by the chief of the surviving conspirators. The nobility and gentry immediately repaired to St James's to congratulate the queen on the suppression of the rebellion. But two were excepted; Courtenay duke of Devonshire, and the young Earl of Worcester, who, on the first approach of the enemy, had turned their horses' heads and fled. On the 3rd of November 1553, Lord Guildford Dudley and Lady Jane Grey had been convicted of high treason. Lady Jane and her husband were both only in their seventeenth year, and no time was fixed upon for their execution; but the revolt of Suffolk, Lady Jane's father, proved an incentive sufficiently strong to prevail over the slenderness of bigots and politicians, and the sacrifice was consummated.

On the 8th of February Mary signed a warrant for their execution, and on the 12th of the same month it was put in force. Lord Guildford Dudley had requested an interview with his beloved wife, who, however, declined the meeting, justly fearing that it might unfit them for the dreadful scene through which they were about to pass. She saw him issue through the gate of the Tower to the scaffold; and soon afterwards, in chancing to look from the same window, she saw the bloody carcass, half covered in the vehicle which bore it back from the place where vengeance and injustice, disguised under the name of law, had done their worst. Lord Dudley was beheaded on Tower-Hill; but his wife, on account of her royal descent, was spared the ignominy of a public execution. Lady Jane Grey is celebrated as exhibiting a matchless union of beauty with genius, and learning with virtue and piety. She astonished the learned of Europe by her talents and accomplishments, and will be recognised by all posterity as one of the purest and most amiable of historical characters. Were Mary chargeable with no other atrocity than that of putting Lady Jane to death for the crime of a father (for it was on his account that the daughter suffered), it were quite sufficient to cover her memory with irremovable degradation. "It was a death," says Sir James Mackintosh, "sufficient to honour and dishonour an age." Suffolk, her father, perished in the same manner a few days afterwards. Sir Nicholas Throgmorton was tried, but the defence which he made was found so good in law, that the jury acquitted him. Above sixty others of the conspirators were condemned to the block, amongst whom were Lord Thomas Grey the brother of Suffolk, and Wyatt the principal mover of the rebellion.

This revolt had very nearly proved fatal to the Princess Elizabeth, who for some time had experienced harsh treatment at the hands of her sister. Mary, upon whom the mantle of Henry VIII. had descended, felt antipathy to her on account of the quarrel between their mothers. This circumstance, in the mind of one whose tender mercies were cruel, was sufficient to change the milk of sisterly affection into mortal venom; and a favourable opportunity was only necessary to make her feel its deadly effects. Nearly a month was spent in labouring to extract information against Elizabeth from Wyatt whilst he lay in prison. But the unfortunate gentleman honourably acquitted her, although he might, in all probability, have saved his own life by implicating her in the late rebellion.

At Ashridge, whither she had retired to escape the constrained participation in a worship which she disapproved, overtures had been made to her by the chiefs of the revolters; but her acceptance or consent was neither shown nor seriously alleged. Immediately after Wyatt's discomfiture, she was conducted to London in a very infirm state of health. It was doubted whether she would reach her destination alive; but youth and strength triumphed over the malady with which she was afflicted. Courtenay earl of Devonshire was also arrested, and committed to the Tower. Two councils were held on the site of Elizabeth, and the judges were divided in their opinions as to her guilt. Gardiner, although he professed to think Elizabeth deserving of death, yet considered her confinement at Ashridge, and Courtenay's residence at St James's, as irreconcilable with a just conviction of treason. The head and front of her offending seems to have been misprision, or concealment of projects of revolt, which was now not a capital crime. It was fortunate for Elizabeth that one of the first measures of her sister, when she ascended the throne, was to sweep away the odious heap of treasons raised up by her father, and the punishment of misprision with death was one of them. But Elizabeth, although absolved from a capital charge, was nevertheless committed to the Tower; and shortly afterwards she was put under the charge of Sir Henry Bedingfield, keeper of Woodstock. During her stay in the Tower, the princess had no other expectation than that of mounting the scaffold which had been trodden long before by her unhappy mother, at her father's stern behest, and on which the blood of Lady Jane Grey, the purest of the pure, was scarcely dry. When Bedingfield came with his soldiers to conduct her to Woodstock, she asked, with her usual quickness and poignancy, "Is the scaffold of Lady Janet taken away?" A few days later, Courtenay was transferred from the Tower to Fotheringay Castle.

The rebellion had suspended for some weeks the proceedings relative to the queen's marriage. But in the beginning of March the English ambassador returned from the Continent with the ratification of the treaty; and Philip landed at Southampton on the 19th of July 1554, attended by a magnificent train of Spanish grandees and Burgundian lords. The marriage between him and Mary was solemnized by Gardiner in his cathedral at Winchester, before crowds of noblemen from all parts of Christendom, and with a pomp and splendour seldom surpassed. Philip was then in the twenty-ninth year of his age, and Mary in her thirty-eighth year. The countenance and form of the prince were far from being disagreeable; but the stately reserve of his Spanish manners was not calculated to lessen the repugnance of the English people to the union.

Soon after her marriage, Mary resolved to restore the religious polity of the kingdom to that state in which it had existed at the time of her birth. Accordingly, on the 12th of November a parliament was holden for this purpose, and a bill passed both houses "for the restitution in blood of the Lord Cardinal Pole." But a difficulty arose regarding the abbey lands; for it was feared that those who possessed them in spite of the indelible claims of the church might be called before the tribunal of the pious cardinal. However, on the 20th of November, Pole arrived at Dover, armed apparently with ample powers to do everything necessary for the reconciliation of England with the church of Rome; and amongst these was full authority to do with the abbey lands as he thought fit. Nine days after his arrival, he made an oration to the two houses, exhorting them to return to the bosom of the universal church, at the same time absolving the kingdom from the papal in- The request was formally acceded to, and Pole was enabled to announce to the pontiff the success of his mission. In order to quiet the possessors of church property, the legate issued his dispensation, declaring that they should not be molested; and a statute passed confirming his sentence. By another, the acts which had abolished the papal supremacy were repealed. This new restoration of power to the papacy formed a sad and dark augury for the devoted Protestants. It was the first indication that the time approached when the fires of persecution were to blaze forth in every county of England, and when heaven was to be insulted by the profanation of its sacred name as sanctioning the foulest deeds of blood.

An act was passed by the parliament of 1554 for the revival of the statutes of former sovereigns against heretics, and especially against Lollards; which revival was to take effect from the 20th of January 1555. During the last reign, no Roman Catholic had suffered capital punishment on account of his faith, nor does there appear to have been any kind of jurisdiction or mode of procedure for the trial of heresy, although the law remained in full force against anabaptists and anti-trinitarians, whose doctrines were looked upon both by Catholics and Protestants as sapping the very foundations of Christianity. It has been alleged by the opponents of Protestantism, that in The Reformation of Laws, composed in the latter part of Edward's reign, there are indications of a preparation for lighting the faggot against the adherents of the ancient religion; and as the point is of some importance, we shall avail ourselves of the following observations by Sir James Mackintosh, which seem to put the matter in its true light. Referring to the allegation that severity against the adherents to Catholicism was about to be put in execution, he says,

"This statement is chiefly grounded on a text of that projected code, which directs that contumacious and incorrigible heretics, after all other means have been exhausted, shall be at length delivered to the civil magistrate to be punished. It is assumed that the punishment must be death. Yet in the very first article of the code, which relates to atheists and unbelievers in Christianity, death is denounced against them in express words.

"The admission of it into another article by mere implication is therefore unreasonable. It is too terrible an enactment to be admitted without express words. If punishment is held to be synonymous with capital punishment, by force of this clause death must be applied to all heresies. If it was intended to confer on the civil magistrate a large discretion in the infliction of inferior punishments for the enumerated heresies, the article is perfectly agreeable to the practice of the framers and the opinions of the times. It is incredible that capital punishment could be denounced against the whole of a long series of heresies, of which the catalogue nearly occupies twenty quarto pages, besides what is called a monstrous heap of other errors, less necessary to be specified, as being less prevalent in that age. Even admitting this unreasonable construction of the plan for a reformed code, it affects only the reputation of the projectors. It never was adopted by public authority. It was not laid before parliament. There is no reason to doubt that the Protestant parliament would have altered the very articles in question, if, when they were communicated to that assembly, they could be supposed to establish or countenance a practice perfectly at variance with that of the king and parliament of England in the reign of Edward VI. To hold that a few words in a Latin manuscript, of projected but not adopted laws, not printed till many years afterwards, could have been the incentive of those who kindled the fires of Smithfield under Mary, is one of the most untenable of all positions. History, Truth and justice require it to be positively pronounced, that Gardiner and Bonner cannot plead the example of Cranmer and Latimer for the bloody persecution which involved in its course the destruction of the Protestant prelates. The anti-trinitarian and the anabaptist, if they had regained power, might indeed have urged such a mitigation, but the Roman Catholic had not even the odious excuse of retaliation."

The year 1555 opened with gloomy forebodings for the reformed clergy; and ere a month had expired, the lowering tempest burst upon them with unexampled fury.

On the 28th of January a commission, with Gardiner at its head as lord chancellor, assembled in the church of St Mary Overy's, in Southwark, for the trial of Protestants. From the station which this individual held, and from his commanding talents, there appears to be little doubt that he was instrumental in pushing forward this bloody work, although some writers have attempted to remove this reproach from his character. Whether he was the main author or not, is a matter of comparatively little importance. As lord chancellor, and as head of the commission, he sanctioned the whole proceedings. He must therefore be held responsible for the deeds of those who acted under his authority, and suffer the lash of posterity, in the same way as Cromwell, on whom Catholic writers have poured out the vials of their wrath, from his having acted as captain of the banditti who plundered the holy places in the reign of the eighth Henry.

The first martyrs in this persecution were Hooper bishop of Gloucester, and Rogers, a clergyman of Essex, both eminent divines of the reformed cause. They died with feelings of triumphant piety in the midst of suffocating flames; and other victims were rapidly hurried to the stake. The principal were, Archbishop Cranmer, Ridley bishop of London, and Latimer bishop of Worcester. (See Cranmer.) These persecutions soon became odious to the whole nation, and the perpetrators of them were all willing to shift the blame from themselves upon others. Many of the Catholic prelates, to their honour, exercised occasionally an effectual and perhaps hazardous humanity in their favour. Gardiner himself withdrew from this unavailing slaughter, and his place was supplied by Bonner bishop of London, a less scrupulous dealer in blood. Even Philip himself was moved to pity, and discountenanced these diabolical proceedings. To describe the sufferings of those persons of eminence and distinction who perished, would fatigue the patience and harrow the feelings of the reader. For four years the persecution was carried on with unsatiated cruelty; and, keeping out of view those who perished in dungeons under every form of misery, and also those who expatriated themselves, nearly three hundred individuals are calculated to have expired at the stake. We are positively informed by Lord Burghley, that in this number of victims are comprised no less than one hundred women and children. The perpetrators of these "more than heathen cruelties" deserve no quarter from posterity; such deeds as those laid to their charge stamp infamy deep on their names, and hold them up to execration now and for ever.

The other events of this reign unconnected with religion are, with the exception of the loss of Calais, unimportant. The reduction of this town had cost Edward III. a siege of eleven months, and the English standard had waved over its battlements for above two centuries. It surrendered to the arms of France after a siege of only eight days, and its loss so affected the queen, that when lying on her deathbed she said, "If you open me you will find Calais written on my heart." Philip, her husband, appears to have treated her with formal but cold respect. He had succeeded to the greatest monarchy then in the world, and had been some time absent from England in superintending its affairs. He returned again, but his departure a second time left Mary to brood over her fruitless barbarity alone. She had more than once entertained the nation with rumours of her pregnancy, and was herself cheated with the illusive hopes of offspring. But this Shiloh of the ancient faith, like that of a celebrated dreamer of after times, was the manifestation of a deadly disorder. She died of dropsy on the 17th of November 1558, to the unspeakable relief of the greater portion of her subjects.

It is customary to load the name of Queen Mary with every kind of opprobrium. But in estimating human character, care should always be taken to distinguish between acts committed under the influence of religious principles, and agreeably to conscience, however erroneous such convictions may be; and those perpetrated from the sheer brutality of passion, or from an instinct of cruelty and bloodshed. That the atrocities of Mary belong to the former class of crimes, we have little hesitation in saying, even with the case of Lady Jane Grey before us. Her ministers, also, must share with her no inconsiderable portion of the odium which is always associated with her reign, for to their errors or prejudices much of the misery which she caused must be ascribed.

Although in the private life of Mary there is much to praise; yet her nature was sour and unamiable, and almost destitute of that tenderness which peculiarly distinguishes the female character. Whether or not she was a tyrant like her father, she was at all events pre-eminently fitted for becoming the tool of tyrants. She was not remorseless, for she is reported to have suffered much on account of her conduct towards the Protestants, but unfortunately her conscience never took effect in time.

After the death of Mary, the Princess Elizabeth succeeded to the throne without opposition. She was at Hatfield when the news of her sister's death were brought to her, and hastening to London immediately, she was received there with great joy. For the preservation of her life this princess was indebted to Philip, the husband of Mary. The Spaniard was aware that her death would remove the only obstacle which stood between Mary of Scotland and the throne of England. That sovereign had been married to the heir-apparent of France, his great political enemy; and the balance of power which might thus be thrown into the hands of the latter would have endangered the stability of Philip's throne; a circumstance which induced him to this unusual act of liberal humanity. The first measure of Elizabeth was to assemble around her throne a body of counsellors who had recommended themselves to public notice by the power of their talents or the steadiness of their principles. Her state council was composed of both Catholics and Protestants, although her more confidential advisers were confined to a select portion of the latter, and amongst these was Sir William Cecil, whom she appointed her first secretary. Precautionary measures were taken to meet any invasion on the part of France in order to raise Mary Queen of Scots to the throne; for the government of that country had made demonstrations to this effect, by instigating Rome to hostilities against Elizabeth. Mary had left a vacant treasury, and one of the first cares of the new administration was to obtain pecuniary supplies; and, from the high character and popularity of the queen, these were immediately granted by the people. Her coronation was then celebrated with all possible splendour and festivity.

To establish the Protestant religion was Elizabeth's most ardent desire. With this view the statutes passed in the late reign for the support of the ancient faith were repealed; and the acts of Henry VIII. in derogation of the papal authority, and of his successor in favour of the reformed church, were for the most part revived. There were some deviations in the new book of common prayer from the liturgy of Edward VI., but of these only two are important. The first consists in the omission of a prayer to be freed from the "tyranny of the bishop of Rome and all his detestable enormities;" which certainly displayed a conciliatory spirit towards the Catholic church. The second was an alteration of the language which spoke of the sacrament as being only a remembrance of the death of Christ, and the substitution of words which indicate the real but not corporeal presence. Towards the middle of 1559 the Protestant liturgy was introduced, and the oath of supremacy administered. Strong opposition to it was evinced on the part of the clergy, especially amongst those of a dignified station; and out of sixteen bishops only one took the oath tendered to them. But the lower orders were less scrupulous; and it is probable that in many instances necessity induced them to make a compromise with their consciences. Those of the clergy who refused compliance with the new code of religious doctrines were deposed, and their places supplied by professors of the reformed religion. According to the standard of punishments which followed contumacy in these ages, the treatment of the bishops was mild. Bonner was imprisoned; but he was a man so empurpled with blood as to be odious to all parties. This was the highest degree of suffering to which any of the nonconformists were subjected.

During the time that the queen and her counsellors were thus settling the religious affairs of the nation, negotiations were carried on between England and France for a peace, which was at last concluded on the following terms, viz. that the French king should restore Calais at the expiration of eight years; that in case of failure, he should pay five hundred thousand crowns, and Elizabeth's title to Calais should still remain; that for the payment of this sum he should find the security of eight foreign merchants, not natives of France; and that until such security was provided he should deliver five hostages. If during this interval Elizabeth should break the peace with France or Scotland, she was to forfeit all title to Calais; but if the French king was to make war on Elizabeth, he was to be obliged to restore the fortress immediately.

The reign of Elizabeth for the first eleven years, that is, from the twenty-fifth to the six and thirtieth year of her life, was distinguished for the internal quiet and happiness of the country. During this interval she displayed the very best qualities of a sovereign; firmness, prudence, vigilance, activity, and foresight. These qualities were tempered with habitual amenity, and a rational piety. By her subjects she was admired, applauded, and imitated; and during this halcyon period her throne received an accession of strength which enabled it to stand unshaken amid the tumultuous storms with which it was afterwards assailed. She was repeatedly advised to engage in a matrimonial alliance, but uniformly declined to do so, declaring her resolution of remaining single for life. Amongst her suitors were various foreign princes, Catholic as well as Protestant; and some of her own subjects even presumed to intrude their offers upon her "maiden meditation," but without success. During the religious war which raged in France, Elizabeth, ever evident in the cause of the reformation, assisted the Huguenots with arms and money.

In the meantime the pretensions of Mary, queen of Scotland, to the crown of England, involved Elizabeth in transactions which have left a stain upon her name. Mary, who was espoused to the dauphin of France, had quartered the arms of England with those of France and Scotland upon her escutcheon; and to this she was advised by the Catholics, who looked upon Elizabeth as a usurper, having been legitimised in her youth by the cruel mandate of her father at the time when he consigned her mother to the block. The result of this appropriation of the armorial bearings of the English sovereign was a quarrel between the two princes, which only terminated with the execution of the unfortunate queen of Scotland. See the articles Mary and Scotland.

In 1569 Elizabeth was excommunicated by Pope Pius V. These anathemas, by absolving subjects from the oath and the duty of allegiance, and suspending the offices of religion, and even those of humanity, were sometimes most disastrous to a country, upon which they descended like a deadly epidemic. But the majority of the queen's subjects were of the same religion with herself, and had thrown off the papal yoke; so that it was in the present instance productive of no other effect than the publication of a severe act against all who held any communication with the bishop of Rome. Severe measures were also taken with the puritans and other dissenters. At this time the English nation was divided into three theological and political parties; the Churchmen, who considered the ecclesiastical revolution as already perfect; the Puritans, who sought further reformation by agitating the minds of the people; and the Catholics, who, supported by the great continental powers, did not yet despair of seating their religion upon the throne. But men of all these persuasions united in their abhorrence of anarchists; and, in order to extirpate them, the fires of Smithfield were, after an interval of seventeen years, rekindled. Fox the celebrated martyrologist dared to interfere in behalf of this hated sect; but his courageous humanity obtained for them only a temporary respite. Two men were burned, and numbers were imprisoned or otherwise corporally punished. These events took place about the middle of the year 1575, and this was the first blood spilt by Elizabeth on account of religion; it, however, forms a dark stain upon her government, which may be pronounced mild when compared with others of the same period. The blood of Henry VIII. was not yet sufficiently purified in this its first descent from the fountain-head.

Amongst the other domestic events connected with the history of England, was that of the rebellion of Percy earl of Northumberland, and Neville earl of Westmoreland. This revolt partook both of a civil and of a religious character, for the noblemen at its head were adherents of the ancient faith, and were encouraged to embark in their lawless enterprise by the Catholic states. But on the approach of the royal troops under Sussex, the insurgents broke up and fled. Northumberland was made prisoner in Scotland, and executed at York; and Westmoreland died in Flanders, in the humble capacity of commandant of a Spanish regiment. Other treasonable transactions originated with the Duke of Norfolk, whose vaulting ambition aspired to the hand of Mary queen of Scots. Indeed he and the two insurgents just named, together with several other nobles, united in a conspiracy against Elizabeth. The timely arrest of Norfolk, however, disconcerted the confederacy, of which the northern rising was merely a premature explosion. Mary of Scotland is positively asserted to have been a participator in the plot. Norfolk was brought to trial; and there seems little doubt that he had incurred the penalties of treason, by having had intercourse with Catholic princes who had undertaken to land in England with a hostile army, and by his clandestine renewal of negotiations for the delivery and espousal of Mary, at that time a prisoner in the hands of Elizabeth. He was condemned to death, and executed, after a great deal of hesitation on the part of the queen.

England now began to distinguish herself in her natural career of maritime enterprise. Amongst the most distinguished of the nautical adventurers of this age was Sir Francis Drake, whose exploits will be found related under the article Drake. A vague rumour had for some time pervaded Europe, of vast naval preparations by the king of Spain, for the invasion and conquest of England. In 1587 Sir Francis Drake having been dispatched with a fleet to attack the Spanish ships which lay in the bay of Cadiz, was completely successful in his enterprise, burning and destroying above one hundred vessels laden with ammunition and naval stores. The fruits of his expedition were of vast importance. Philip's preparations were disturbed, and his project of invasion put off for twelve months, during which period Elizabeth had time to make head against the storm which was gathering in that quarter. These were the obvious results of Drake's bravery; but who can estimate the moral effect which it had produced? It gave a heroic impulse to the nation, and inspired it with confidence in its own strength and resources. It taught English seamen to look without terror upon the towering bulk of the Spanish vessels; whilst the Spaniards themselves must have in a proportional degree lost the confidence of having an advantage over the enemy by means of their floating castles.

The king of Spain having once more completed his complement of vessels, manned them with the ablest seamen and soldiers, under the command of the most renowned leaders. This Armada was truly imposing and magnificent; it was baptized The Invincible, but not with English blood. Never before had the ocean borne a more splendid fleet than that which sailed from the Tagus on the 25th of May 1588. The ships and their equipments had been fitted out in every part of its king's dominions. In Flanders, the forest of Waes had been felled; the dockyards of Antwerp, Dunkirk, Newport, and Gravelines swarmed with artificers; and the rivers and canals were covered with boats adapted for the transport of soldiers destined to serve in the expedition. On the 20th of May the following enumeration of the vessels was made: "The general sum was 130 ships, of 57,808 tons; 19,295 soldiers and 8450 mariners, with 2088 slaves, and 2630 great pieces of cannon of all sorts; also twenty caravels for the service of the others, with ten salvers of six ears a piece." Towards the end of June another armament of eighty sail left Lisbon to join them. To meet this overwhelming armament the royal navy of England mustered 181 ships, containing between seventeen and eighteen thousand seamen. There were only eight ships above five hundred tons burden, and the largest was only eleven hundred. The aggregate burden of the whole English fleet amounted to 31,985 tons, being little more than one half of that of the Spaniards. The preparations made on land displayed equal spirit and enthusiasm. A loyal patriotism and active magnanimity pervaded the whole kingdom. The city of London set a noble example. The lord-mayor, in the name of the metropolis, put at the disposal of his sovereign ten thousand soldiers and thirty vessels. The whole nation emulated this wise liberality; and every city, town, and hamlet poured forth its ardent patriots to take their stand upon the coast and repel the insulting invader. About fifty thousand men under the command of Earl Hunsdon, a brave and able general,

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1 Strype, p. 538-9; from the Spanish book, which rather styled the whole "Feliciatina Armada." guarded the queen's person. The Thames at Tilbury was watched by Leicester with a considerable force. Sir Walter Raleigh was stationed at Portland Castle, in Dorsetshire, and the Earl of Sussex at Portsmouth. In the other parts of the country the wisest measures of defensive warfare were adopted. At sea one division of the fleet under Lord Henry Seymour guarded the narrow seas; whilst the main body under Lord Charles Howard, the high admiral, was stationed in the Western Ocean. The gallant Sir Francis Drake and the able navigators Hawkins and Frobisher were in this division.

Under the Duke of Medina Sidonia, the Spanish Armada set sail for the invasion of England. It was for some time retarded by a tempest, which also harassed the English fleet; and news were brought to the queen of England that Medina's Armada had been so injured and scattered that the expedition was for the present abandoned. The English ships withdrew to various ports, where they might have been surprised and burned, had not intelligence accidentally arrived that the Spanish fleet was bearing down full sail upon the coast. On the 20th of July the English admirals came in sight of the enemy, and next day the first engagement took place. The plan of Lord Howard was to evade a direct attack; for his vessels being so much inferior in bulk and weight of metal to the enemy's ships, were incapable of grappling in close action with them; but being superior in mobility and expedition, he resolved to annoy their rear, and to cut off the sluggish sailors. In the first attack neither fleet suffered much. Early in the morning of the 23rd the second conflict began, and both fleets fought with valour; but the advantage was at last on the side of the English, over whose smaller vessels the iron shower from the higher sides of the Spanish ships flew harmless, whilst their own took full effect. On the 24th a pause took place in the battle, which was, however, renewed next day; but the mighty armament forced its way unbroken to the vicinity of Calais. They were now prepared to act in concert with the Duke of Parma, who had completed his preparations. He possessed in the harbours of Newport and Dunkirk transports which carried about twenty-eight thousand men, and which waited the general's command to make the grand attempt.

The concentration of the Spanish Armada off Calais suggested to the English admiral the idea of employing fireships to destroy it. Eight vessels were thereupon hastily prepared for this purpose, and during the night of the 29th, which was cloudy and boisterous, they were sent down blazing with combustible materials into the heart of the Spanish fleet. A cry of horror burst from the Spaniards, and, seized with an irresistible panic, they cut their cables with the intention of standing out to sea. But in their terror and confusion they inflicted severe injury upon one another; and, to augment their distress, a fierce gale sprung up, which scattered the Armada along the coast from Ostend to Calais. Some struck on the shallows at Flanders, whilst others beat out to sea; the remainder, amounting to about forty sail, were assailed by Drake and the rest of the English fleet. This was the most severe engagement which had yet taken place, and was maintained with great bravery for a whole day. The Spaniards lost several of their best ships; and after vainly endeavouring to regain their position in the narrow strait, where Parma could alone join them, they resolved to return to Spain by making a circuit round Great Britain. The want of ammunition compelled the English to refrain from pursuing the invaders at a time when they might have annihilated them. But this was reserved for an enemy even more formidable than that before which they fled. A storm overtook them on their unfortunate voyage, and the coasts of Scotland and Ireland were strewn with the wrecks of the Invincible Armada, so that only a feeble remnant of that splendid fleet reached the shore from whence it had sailed, in all the pomp and circumstance of war, as if to an assured triumph.

The events of Elizabeth's reign which followed the discomfiture of the Spanish attempt to invade England may be briefly related. The Earl of Leicester, who had for a long time maintained an enviable place in the queen's favour, was invested with fresh honours. A new and unprecedented office was created for him, that of lord lieutenant of England and Ireland, which exalted him to an authority only a little lower than that of sovereignty. But the ink was scarcely dry upon the warrant which wanted but the royal signature to complete the triumph of the favourite, when he was cut off by a violent disease, which, whether it arose from natural causes, or from poison being administered, at all events speedily terminated his career. Of this nobleman little need be said. He is one of a numerous class of historical characters who possess a degree of notoriety, not on account of any brilliant endowments which they themselves possessed, but from their proximity to or connection with distinguished personages. He possessed no intellectual or moral qualities which, deprived of adventitious aid, would have thrown him into the foreground of his country's history; whilst, if we listen to the opinion of his contemporaries, he must be looked upon as dissolute and unprincipled, notwithstanding his affectation of piety. He is a satellite only conspicuous from the light which is reflected upon him by his sovereign.

The English navy, emboldened by its late triumph, now made several very successful descents upon the Spanish coast, not so much for the purpose of obtaining permanent conquest, as of harassing the enemy. These expeditions were conducted by the most able commanders, amongst whom were some of the brightest names in the history of maritime discovery and enterprise, such as those of Raleigh, Drake, Cavendish, Hawkins, and Howard. It was then that the English navy assumed the empire of the sea, which it has ever since maintained with triumphant heroism.

On the death of Leicester, the young Earl of Essex succeeded him as prime favourite of the queen. But the desire of glory or the hope of plunder induced this volatile young nobleman to join the armament preparing to sail for Spain. The expedition was unfortunate, and when Essex returned to England, he found two rival candidates for royal favour, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Charles Blount. By the superior influence of these noblemen, the former was driven to cultivate a portion of land which had been granted to him in Ireland; and with the latter Essex fought a duel, in which he was wounded. But by the queen's command they were reconciled to each other, and in process of time they became sincere and attached friends.

In the year 1596, a new expedition was fitted out for Spain, which was completely successful. The Spanish fleet was defeated, and lost thirteen men-of-war. Cadiz was taken, and its defences, which rendered the town the strongest fortress in the country, were razed to the ground. This was the severest blow which the king of Spain received from his daring enemy subsequent to the repulse of the Armada. Matters might have been still worse with him had not dissension sprung up amongst the English commanders, the majority of whom, against the suggestion of Essex, who was one of the leaders, declared for an immediate return to England. The town, with the exception of the churches, was reduced to ashes; and the troops, taking with them the most valuable portion of the plunder, re-embarked, and the fleet returned to Plymouth in less than ten weeks after it had set sail. Essex, on his arri- England, the southern, and by far the most fertile division of Britain, corresponds in latitude with Holland and the north of Germany, extending from $50^\circ$ to $55^\circ 45' N$. Its figure is nearly triangular, and its extent of coast is very great, both from being much indented, and from the sea bounding it on all sides except along a width of seventy miles on the Scottish border. The adjacent seas are the German Ocean on the east, St George's Channel on the west, and the English Channel on the south. No country can be more fortunately situated; its climate is temperate; its extent is sufficient for its political security; whilst its insular position not only presents the greatest capabilities of aggrandisement in a commercial sense, but has, by rendering a great military force unnecessary, in all probability been the chief cause of preventing the executive branch from usurping absolute power, as in the countries of the Continent.

Its superficial extent had long been a question of considerable doubt, and the different estimates varied no less than ten millions of acres. Mr Pitt, on the authority of Arthur Young, assumed, in 1798, the superficial extent of England and Wales to be nearly 47,000,000 of acres; a later calculation by Dr Becke, approaching more to accuracy than any preceding one, fixed it at 38,500,000 acres; but, according to Arrowsmith's map, which, as it is principally founded on the trigonometrical survey, cannot involve any material error, the area of England and Wales amounts to 57,960 square miles of 69'15 to the degree, or to 37,094,400 imperial acres. This is the measure that is now adopted in all the parliamentary reports.

England is, in general, a level country. In the north, Face of the Westmoreland, and a considerable part of Cumberland, country, Lancashire, and Yorkshire, are mountainous; but most of the other counties present a succession rather of picturesque eminences than of great elevations, forming a striking contrast to the barren ridges of the northern part of the island, and still more to the abrupt and awful scenery of Switzerland or the south of Germany. The highest mountains of England are in the north-west, where there are several exceeding 3000 feet in height; of these, the most noted, if not the highest, is Skiddaw. Between Lan-

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1 See Turner's Elizabeth, vol. iv. p. 364. 2 Observations on the Produce of the Income Tax, &c. 1800. Statistics. Cheshire and Yorkshire there is a range of nearly equal altitude; in Shropshire there are various hills; also in Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, none of which, however, reaches the height of 2000 feet. There is a long hilly range which traverses the southern counties, in a line nearly due east and west from Dorsetshire to Kent; and another that stretches in a north-east direction from Wiltshire to the East Riding of Yorkshire; but both are of inconsiderable elevation. The traveller who proceeds northward from London to York meets very few hills, and hardly one mountain, in a distance of 300 miles. To the east of this road, the country, particularly Cambridgeshire, Lincolnshire, and part of the East Riding of Yorkshire, is almost entirely level, and bears a great resemblance to Holland; consisting of fens apparently gained in a very remote age from the sea. In Wales the face of the country is altogether different, being mountainous throughout, and some of the hills, in particular Snowdon and Cadair Idris, attaining a height nearly 3600 feet above the level of the sea.

Sea-coast. The sea-coast of England presents a very different aspect in different situations; in some quarters, as in Cornwall, Kent, part of Norfolk, and Wales, it is steep and elevated; in other parts it is low, sandy, or marshy; exhibiting, on the whole, a variety which hardly admits of being brought under a uniform description, and which, though partaking much more of a level than rugged character, still differs greatly from the opposite shore of Flanders, Holland, and Friesland, which is one continued flat for more than 300 miles.

Rivers. Of the rivers of England, the largest are the Thames, the Severn, and the Trent. The Thames has no pretensions to romantic effect in any part of its course, nor is its body of fresh water large; but it is navigable for more than 120 miles, and, in the approach to London from the Nore, presents to the admiring spectator a prospect which, whether we consider the quantity of shipping, the thickening population, or the high state of improvement of its banks, is wholly without parallel. The Severn, though not equal to the Tay in quantity of fresh water, is superior to the Thames, and during the first part of its course preserves the characteristics of a mountain stream, being clear, and at times bordered by picturesque scenery; but on leaving Wales, and entering a more level country, it assumes a different aspect, and becomes a full slow-flowing river, admitting of easy navigation, and facilitating greatly the commerce of Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire. Towards its mouth it receives the Wye, a large navigable river from Wales. The Trent rises in Staffordshire, and after a course, often tortuous, but generally in a north-east direction, falls into the Humber, which soon after becomes a broad estuary. The Mersey, as a river, is of no great importance, but as an arm of the sea it affords, from the west, a very capacious inlet to the trade of Liverpool, and facilitates the conveyance of the produce of the interior. The Tyne is a large stream, having Newcastle on its banks, and Shields near its mouth. The Medway, as a fresh-water river, is small and sluggish, but acquires, by the influx of the tide, such a depth of water at Chatham as to adapt it to the reception of the largest men of war. Speaking generally, it is only the rivers of Wales, Westmoreland, Cumberland, and a few mountainous districts, that are rapid or transparent; the great majority of English rivers, particularly in the eastern and central part of the kingdom, are slow in their course, and owe the degree of beauty which they possess, less to the effect of the water or scenery, than to the high cultivation and elegant disposition of the adjacent grounds.

A similar remark applies to the lakes of England. No Lakes and thing can exceed the beauty of Windermere, Keswick, Ullswater; whilst the unvaried and uninteresting collections of water, such as Whittleseameer, and others in the fen district, are to be compared only to those in North Holland or Friesland. In regard to wood, England is very well provided, without having many of those extensive forests which are met with on the Continent upon great mountain ranges, such as on the Jura ridge between France and Switzerland, and the Suabian Alps upon the Upper Rhine. It is in private plantations of limited extent, but of very frequent occurrence, and sometimes of great beauty, that the chief stock of English timber is to be found. Several very extensive tracts, such as the New Forest in Hampshire, the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire, and Sherwood in Nottinghamshire, belong to the crown.

The soil of England is suited to a great variety of productions; but it has not the exuberant fertility of southern climates, much labour and vigilance being requisite to obtain from it a grateful return. The quantity of moisture makes it admirably adapted for pasture; a characteristic which does not particularly strike those whose travels have never extended beyond their own country, but is of the highest importance in the view of those who have visited the Continent, and have witnessed the parched and arid state of the richest plains in the months of autumn. In regard to husbandry, it happens, by a singular coincidence, that in England, as in Scotland, the best is practised in the east part of the island, particularly in Norfolk and Northumberland. As to mineral treasures, the eastern counties of England, to the south of Yorkshire, are remarkable for containing no mines either of coal or of metal; these valuable deposits are to be sought in the more uneven districts of the north and west, viz. in Northumberland, Durham, Westmoreland, Lancashire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, Devon, and Cornwall, in Wales, and in the midland counties of Warwick, Stafford, and Derby. In the east, particularly in Lincoln and Cambridgehire, vast improvements have been made in the present age by draining; but there are still the means of making further and valuable acquisitions. Much also remains to be done in bringing into culture extensive heaths and moorlands in almost every county in the kingdom. The soil of these is in general poor, but the tillage required would seldom be obstructed, as in many parts of Scotland, by the ruggedness of the surface. Comparing the soil of England with that of the adjacent countries, we find it greatly superior to that of Scotland, except along our eastern coast; it is perhaps better also than that of Ireland, fertile as the latter naturally is; nor needs it, on the whole, dread a comparison even with the soil of France, where, amidst districts of great beauty and luxuriance, the eye of the traveller is often struck with extensive tracts of heath or marsh.

The following table exhibits the area of each county in England and Wales, in acres and square miles, according to Arrowsmith's map. It also gives an estimate, 1st, of the extent of the arable, meadow, and pasture land in each county; 2dly, of the waste land in each capable of being converted into arable, meadow, and pasture; and, 3dly, of the extent of surface in each susceptible of cultivation, or of conversion into meadow or pasture, consisting of unimproveable mountain and moor, lakes, rivers, roads, canals, woods, fences, &c. | Counties | Total Area in Square Miles | Total Area in Statute Acres | Arable Meadow and Pasture Land | Waste Land capable of becoming Arable or Pasture | Surface incapable of becoming Arable or Pasture | |---------------|----------------------------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------| | Bedford | 463 | 296,320 | 248,000 | 31,000 | 17,320 | | Berks | 756 | 483,840 | 380,000 | 75,000 | 28,840 | | Buckingham | 740 | 473,600 | 440,000 | 5,000 | 28,600 | | Cambridge | 858 | 549,120 | 500,000 | 17,000 | 32,120 | | Cheshire | 1,052 | 673,280 | 594,000 | 40,000 | 39,280 | | Cornwall | 1,327 | 849,280 | 550,000 | 190,000 | 109,280 | | Cumberland | 1,478 | 945,920 | 670,000 | 150,000 | 125,920 | | Derby | 1,026 | 656,640 | 500,000 | 100,000 | 56,640 | | Devon | 2,579 | 1,650,560 | 1,200,000 | 300,000 | 150,560 | | Dorset | 1,005 | 643,200 | 573,000 | 25,000 | 45,200 | | Durham | 1,061 | 679,040 | 500,000 | 100,000 | 79,040 | | Essex | 1,532 | 980,480 | 900,000 | 10,000 | 70,480 | | Gloucester | 1,256 | 803,840 | 750,000 | 6,000 | 47,840 | | Hants | | 1,041,920 | 900,000 | 80,000 | 61,920 | | Hercford | 860 | 550,400 | 495,000 | 24,000 | 31,400 | | Hertford | 528 | 337,920 | 310,000 | 8,000 | 19,920 | | Huntington | 370 | 236,800 | 220,000 | 3,000 | 13,800 | | Kent | 1,537 | 983,690 | 900,000 | 20,000 | 63,690 | | Lancashire | 1,831 | 1,171,840 | 850,000 | 200,000 | 121,840 | | Leicester | 804 | 514,560 | 480,000 | 5,000 | 29,560 | | Lincoln | 2,748 | 1,758,720 | 1,465,000 | 180,000 | 113,720 | | Middlesex | 282 | 180,480 | 155,000 | 17,000 | 8,480 | | Monmouth | 498 | 318,720 | 270,000 | 30,000 | 18,720 | | Norfolk | 2,092 | 1,338,880 | 1,180,000 | 78,000 | 80,880 | | Northampton | 1,017 | 650,880 | 555,000 | 50,000 | 45,880 | | Northumberland| 1,871 | 1,197,440 | 900,000 | 160,000 | 137,440 | | Nottingham | 837 | 535,680 | 470,000 | 28,000 | 37,680 | | Oxford | 752 | 481,280 | 403,000 | 50,000 | 28,280 | | Rutland | 149 | 95,360 | 89,000 | 1,000 | 5,360 | | Salop | 1,341 | 858,240 | 790,000 | 20,000 | 48,240 | | Somerset | 1,642 | 1,050,880 | 900,000 | 88,000 | 62,880 | | Stafford | 1,628 | 734,720 | 560,000 | 85,000 | 89,720 | | Suffolk | 1,148 | 967,680 | 820,000 | 88,000 | 59,680 | | Surrey | 1,512 | 485,120 | 400,000 | 50,000 | 35,120 | | Sussex | 758 | 936,320 | 625,000 | 170,000 | 141,320 | | Warwick | 1,463 | 577,280 | 510,000 | 30,000 | 37,280 | | Westmoreland | 902 | 488,320 | 180,000 | 110,000 | 198,320 | | Wilts | 763 | 882,560 | 500,000 | 200,000 | 182,560 | | Worcester | 729 | 466,560 | 400,000 | 30,000 | 36,560 | | Yorkshire | 5,961 | 3,815,040 | 2,500,000 | 600,000 | 715,040 |

| Totals | 50,535 | 32,342,400 | 25,632,000 | 3,454,000 | 3,256,400 |

| WELLS. | | | | | | | Anglesey | 271 | 173,440 | 150,000 | 10,000 | 13,440 | | Brecknock | 754 | 482,560 | 300,000 | 50,000 | 102,560 | | Cardigan | 675 | 432,000 | 245,000 | 80,000 | 107,000 | | Carmarthen | 974 | 623,360 | 342,000 | 60,000 | 221,360 | | Carnarvon | 544 | 348,160 | 160,000 | 60,000 | 128,160 | | Denbigh | 633 | 405,120 | 360,000 | 20,000 | 25,120 | | Flint | 244 | 156,160 | 130,000 | 10,000 | 16,160 | | Glamorgan | 792 | 506,880 | 305,000 | 60,000 | 141,880 | | Merioneth | 663 | 424,320 | 350,000 | 20,000 | 54,320 | | Montgomery | 839 | 536,960 | 240,000 | 100,000 | 196,960 | | Pembroke | 610 | 390,400 | 300,000 | 20,000 | 70,400 | | Radnor | 426 | 272,640 | 235,000 | 10,000 | 27,640 |

| Totals | 7,425 | 4,752,000 | 3,117,000 | 530,000 | 1,105,000 |

| ENGLAND AND WALES. | | | | | | | Totals | 57,960 | 37,094,400 | 28,749,000 | 3,984,000 | 4,361,400 |

This table, originally given in the Report of the Committee of the House of Commons on Emigration, was compiled by Mr Couling, civil engineer. It can of course only be regarded as an approximation; but as Mr Couling has bestowed great attention to the subject, we do not suppose that it involves any material error.

VOL. VIII. The climate of England is that of an insular country of limited extent, subject in consequence to rain, and exempt from intensity of either heat or cold. Compared with the adjacent countries, it is less humid than Ireland, which, like Portugal, in a different latitude, is the first land to intercept the vapours of the Atlantic; but, on the other hand, the climate of England is less dry than the opposite shores of Holland and Germany, to which every wind but the west arrives across a tract of continent. The climate of the south of England resembles much that of the opposite coast of Brittany, Normandy, and Flanders; whilst that of the north is very similar to the temperature of Denmark, which, like the north of England, is a narrow country inclosed on either side by the sea. In regard to the relative degrees of heat or cold, if England have not so much summer warmth as continental countries on the same parallel, she generally escapes in winter that intensity of frost, which in less than forty-eight hours of easterly wind so frequently seals up their harbours. On the other hand, our weather is much more variable than in the inland part of the Continent, and our sky is less clear; still it by no means follows that the balance of disadvantage is on our side. The moderate heat and frequent returns of rain preserve throughout the year that verdant pasture which in autumn the Continent enjoys only in its maritime districts; whilst those droughts in spring, which are so noxious in the south of France and in similar latitudes of the Continent, are hardly known among us. In point of salubrity, also, we may fairly stand a comparison with our neighbours; for, variable as is our atmosphere, no country perhaps exhibits a larger proportion of examples of longevity.

There exists, however, a considerable difference in the climate of different parts of England. The west, exposed to the Atlantic, and containing hills and mountains which intercept the clouds, is much more rainy than the east, where the aspect of the country is level, and the expanse of adjacent water much less considerable. Another and equally remarkable difference arises from latitude, the season being a fortnight or three weeks later in the north than in the south of England. Notwithstanding all the skill of the Northumbrian farmers, the traveller who leaves the harvest finished in the south of England in the first week of September, and who sees the corn cut, if not carried, in the midland counties, will generally find it, in the middle of that month, untouched and standing in most parts of the country to the northward of York. In winter this difference in the temperature of the north and south of England is less perceptible. As to the spring months, March is proverbially raw and cold, from the prevalence of easterly winds, particularly in that part of the kingdom adjacent to the German Ocean. April is in general wet and favourable to vegetation; but May, though a pleasant month, can hardly be said with us to bring more "indulgent skies." It is in June, July, and August, that our climate assumes a more settled aspect; whilst, at the same time, the power of taking exercise on almost any day is indicative of a very gratifying advantage over the sultry atmosphere of our southern neighbours on the Continent. November, though frequently wet and foggy, is only a prelude to winter; even December does not often bring intense frost, which is commonly reserved for January; and during the last twenty years we have been repeatedly without any frost of consequence, or heavy falls of snow, until a considerable time after the days had lengthened.

During the six winter months from October to March, the mean temperature of the central part of England is commonly between $42^\circ$ and $43^\circ$ of Fahrenheit. In December, January, and February, it is generally below $40^\circ$; in July and August $62^\circ$ to $65^\circ$. The variations of temperature within the space of twenty-four hours are felt most strongly in the equinoctial months, March and September. In these there is often a difference of $18^\circ$ or $20^\circ$ between the day and the night, whilst in the summer months this difference seldom exceeds $12^\circ$ or $15^\circ$, and in December or January is only from $6^\circ$ to $8^\circ$. The mean annual temperature, noon and night, of the central part of England, is about $50^\circ$. The greatest summer heat seldom exceeds $80^\circ$, and the cold of December or January is rarely below $20^\circ$ or $25^\circ$. In mild situations in Devonshire and Cornwall, the winter temperature is $3^\circ$, $3^\circ$, $4^\circ$, and even $5^\circ$ higher than in London. Penzance is the spot in England least visited by severe cold; and it is consequently much recommended in pulmonary cases.

Of rain, the largest proportion falls in the north-west of England, particularly in Westmoreland and Lancashire, owing to the neighbourhood of the sea and the height of the mountains. There the average quantity is found to be forty-five, fifty, and, in some situations, sixty inches, whilst the average of the kingdom at large is from thirty to forty inches.

The prevalent winds in England are west and south-west. Our outward-bound merchantmen are often detained, from the want of a northerly or easterly wind; but it rarely happens that our homeward bound are kept beating in the channel by the want of a westerly breeze. In these respects, also, the case is the same on the opposite shores of the Continent; the Dutch and French outward-bound vessels often experiencing detention from the continuance of westerly winds.

II.—Divisions, Civil and Ecclesiastical.

The civil divisions of England are those of counties, hundreds, and parishes. The county divisions, like several of our national improvements, date from the reign of Alfred, and, though subsequently increased by the acquisition of the three northern counties from the Scotch, have not, in other respects, experienced much alteration since his time.

The twelve counties of Wales added to the forty counties of England, make a total of fifty-two. The name of "county corporate" is given to most of the cities of England, and to some of the towns; and this distinction, little attended to by the public, and seldom mentioned but in law papers, implies that the district in question is governed by its own sheriffs and other magistrates, to the exclusion of the officers of the county at large.

The division into hundreds must have originated in reference to the existing population, and consequently implied a district containing either a hundred able-bodied men or a hundred families. As population increased very differently in different situations, great inequality ensued in regard to these divisions; and, in the reign of Henry VIII., many of the larger hundreds were partitioned into smaller districts. Hundreds were further subdivided in the time of Alfred into tithings, or associations of ten men, for the purpose of mutual defence. But both these subdivisions were unknown in the northern counties, from their not having been subject to the Saxon legislator: the latter, on their subsequent annexation to the crown of England, were divided into "wards" and "wapentakes;" terms sufficiently expressive of the warlike character of the age, and of the exposed situation of a frontier province.

The ecclesiastical division of England is into two archbishoprics and twenty-four bishoprics. The archbishopric of York, though by much the smaller of the two, comprises Northumberland, Durham, Westmoreland, Cumberland, Cheshire, Lancashire, the chief... Statistics part of Yorkshire, and the Isle of Man; and Canterbury extends over all the rest of the kingdom, including even Jersey and Guernsey. The bishoprics are very different in extent of jurisdiction, as well as in annual emolument. The third and most familiar of the ecclesiastical divisions of England is into parishes. This mode of division seems to have existed from a very remote period, and to have continued during the last five centuries on the same footing, with very slight variation, as at present. The total number of parishes in England and Wales is 10,674.

III.—Harbours, Roads, Canals, Bridges.

Harbours. Portsmouth, Milford Haven, and Plymouth, are the finest harbours in England, and are surpassed by few if any in the world. Of these, Portsmouth is entitled to the pre-eminence. This noble harbour is about as wide at its mouth as the Thames is at Westminster Bridge, expanding within into a capacious basin, almost sufficient to contain the whole navy of Great Britain. Its entrance is unobstructed by any bar or shallow; and it has throughout water adequate to float the largest man-of-war at the lowest tides. The anchorage ground is excellent, and it is entirely free from sunken rocks, sand-banks, or any similar obstructions. The western side of the harbour is formed by the island of Portsea; and on its south-western extremity, at the entrance to the harbour, is situated the town of Portsmouth, and its large and important suburb of Portsea. Here are docks and other establishments for the building, repair, and outfit of ships of war, constructed upon a very large scale, and furnished with every convenience.

Portsmouth harbour has the additional and important advantage of opening into the celebrated road of Spithead, lying between the Hampshire coast and the Isle of Wight, and forming a safe and convenient retreat for the largest fleets.

Milford Haven deeply indents the southern part of Pembrokeshire. It is of great extent, and has within it many bays, creeks, and roads. The water is deep and the anchorage ground excellent; and being completely landlocked, ships lie as safely in it as if they were in dock.

Plymouth, which, after Portsmouth, is the principal naval depot of England, has an admirable double harbour. The roadstead in Plymouth Sound has recently been much improved by the construction, at a vast expense, of a stupendous breakwater more than 1700 yards in length. This bulwark protects the ships lying inside from the effects of the heavy swell thrown into the Sound by southerly and south-easterly winds.

London stands at the head of the river ports of Great Britain. Considering the limited course of the Thames, there is probably no river that is navigable for large ships to so great a distance from the sea, or whose mouth is less obstructed by banks. London is mainly indebted for the unrivalled magnitude of her commerce to her favourable situation on this noble river; which not only gives her all the advantages of an excellent port, accessible at all times to the largest ships, but renders her the emporium of the extensive, rich, and populous country comprised in the basin of the Thames.

The Mersey, now the second commercial river in the empire, is more incommuned with banks than the Thames, and is in all respects inferior, as a channel of navigation, to the latter. Still, however, it gives to Liverpool very great advantages; and the new channel which has recently been discovered in the banks promises to be of much importance in facilitating the access to and from the port.

Bristol and Hull are both river ports. Owing to the extraordinary rise of the tide in the Bristol Channel, the former is accessible even to the largest ships. The Hum-ber is a good deal impeded by banks; but it also is navigable as far as Hull by very large vessels. The Tyne admits vessels of very considerable burden as far as Newcastle, which, next to London, is the most important shipping port in the empire.

It was not until after 1660 that the public took an active part in regard to the highways. Turnpikes were at that time placed on the great North Road, in the counties of Hertford, Huntingdon, and Cambridge; but it was not till after the peace of 1748 that adequate exertions were made to redeem our public roads from their wretched condition. After 1760 the increasing price of agricultural produce, and the general spirit of improvement, had the most beneficial operation in this respect; and in the fourteen years from that time to 1774, no less than 452 acts were passed for the amelioration of our roads. It was then also that our inland navigation assumed an aspect of activity. The Bridgewater and Trent Canals were commenced; yet the number of canal acts which passed between 1760 and 1774 was only nineteen. The American war interfered considerably with public improvement; and it is only from the date of its cessation that we enter upon an active and prosperous era.

The total length of paved streets and paved roads in England and Wales may be taken, according to a parliamentary return in 1818, at about 20,000 miles; the total length of all other roads at nearly 96,000 miles. In France the highways are under the care of government, and are kept in repair out of the general taxes, without any tolls or turnpike dues; in England they are managed by the respective counties, represented by commissioners, and no part of the expense comes out of the public treasury. It is defrayed partly by local imposts, partly by dues levied; and the local impost is discharged either by labour or by composition money, thus:

The value of labour in kind (on an average of the years ending October 1812, 1813, and 1814) was ........................................... L535,423

The average amount of composition money ............. 278,506

The average amount of dues or rents levied .......... 601,954

Annual average of the expenditure on the roads of England and Wales ......................... L1,415,883 being at the rate of nearly L12.6s. 8d. per mile. In the Highlands of Scotland, where the travelling is so much less, one third of this allowance is sufficient for the annual repair of the roads.

The canals of England are extremely numerous; in fact, canals no country except Holland can enter into competition with us in this respect. Amongst the principal are the Grand Junction, advancing from London above 100 miles into the midland counties; the Grand Trunk, extending from the Severn northward into Staffordshire, a distance of 139 miles; the Liverpool and Leeds, extending 130 miles; the Oxford, ninety-one miles. To proceed with the enumeration would be almost endless; suffice it to observe, that the English canals are of moderate size, being from twenty-five to thirty, thirty-five, and forty feet in width, and, in general, from five to six feet in depth; the barges navigating them are very long, frequently seventy or eighty feet, on a width of ten, twelve, or fourteen feet; but in many cases their dimensions, at least their width, are necessarily smaller, the less frequented canals being narrower than those we have mentioned. Could the application of steam to navigation have been foreseen, the canals of England would probably have been made wider. For full details with respect to the canals of England, and the recent improvements in their construction, and in travelling by The principal bridges in the kingdom are the six erected across the Thames at London, three of which have been opened since 1817. Of these, two, the Southwark and Vauxhall, are of cast iron, the one being of three very large arches, and the other of nine arches, each of seventy-eight feet span. The first example of an iron bridge on a large scale, either in England or any other country, was that erected in 1796 at Wearmouth in Durham, the span of which was 240 feet. In the same year was finished at Buildwas, near Colebrook Dale, over the Severn, an iron bridge of 130 feet in span. See article Bridge, in this work.

IV.—Agriculture.

Of the state of English agriculture in former ages we can form some idea from a reference to the acts of the legislature. In these we find, at a very early date, the traces of that policy which expects abundance and cheapness to result from discouraging the exportation of corn. No permission to export seems to have been granted till 1394, and then only on the payment of certain duties; in 1436 some additional latitude was given, and exportation was allowed when the quarter of wheat did not exceed a price corresponding to nearly 15s. of our present money. The reign of Elizabeth was the epoch of a great rise in the prices of corn, originating, not, as was vulgarly asserted, in the "decay of tillage," but in the sudden depreciation of money, produced (as has been explained in the article Corn Laws) partly by degradation of the coin, and partly by the influx of silver from the mines of America. The complaints of the "decay of tillage," if they express anything more than the ordinary discontent of the ignorant part of the consumers, are to be accounted for by the gradual consolidation of small farms, and by inclosing land for pasture, with a view to the exportation of wool. In these days, however, government participated in the prejudices of the people; and the general purport of the acts passed under Elizabeth and her successors was to shackle exportation and prevent a rise of price. It was not till the reign of Charles II. (1670) that the exportation of corn was exempted from taxation; and it is from 1689 that we are to date that fundamental change in our corn laws which encouraged exportation by a bounty.

Clover, turnips, and potatoes were introduced into England in the seventeenth century. In the Improver Improved, published by Blythe in 1649, we find the first traces of what may be termed the modern system of husbandry; that is, of a rotation of crops, and of the occasional substitution of green for culmiferous crops. But the practice, though thus early introduced, and though it lies at the foundation of all good husbandry, made but little progress for a very long period. The writings and the example of the famous Jethro Tull, in the early part of last century, notwithstanding he carried his theory to an excess, did much to introduce the practice of drilling, and had a very favourable influence on agriculture. Nothing, however, did half so much to accelerate the march of improvement, as the wonderful increase of manufactures and commerce, and consequently of the town population, subsequently to the peace of Paris in 1763. The greater number, and still more the improved circumstances, of the people, occasioned, in particular, a very great increase in the demand for butchers' meat. And it is to this circumstance that we are mainly indebted for the extraordinary improvements which have been made during the last sixty or seventy years in stock husbandry. But the indirect influence of the augmented demand for butchers' meat has been equally conspicuous, and has proved of the utmost advantage to arable husbandry, inasmuch as it caused a corresponding increase in the demand for green food, that is, for turnips, clover, &c. This did incomparably more than anything else to introduce that intermixture of green and culmiferous crops which is so essential to good husbandry; and it was the real cause of the greatest of all agricultural improvements, namely, the substitution of turnips for fallows on all light lands. This has increased the productive power of the soil in a degree not easy to be conceived; and, coupled with the frequent substitution of beans for naked fallows on stiff clay lands, has in all probability more than doubled the available raw produce of the kingdom.

For a lengthened series of years England exported large quantities of corn. But notwithstanding the vast additions made to the supplies of corn by the improvements alluded to, the still greater increase of wealth and population, after occasioning, first a diminution, and next a cessation of exportation, has for many years past made the balance incline on the side of importation. It has been supposed by some that this change was owing to the alterations effected in the laws with respect to the importation of corn in 1772; but we have elsewhere shown that there is no room or ground for any such opinion. (See Corn Laws and Corn Trade.) There cannot, indeed, be the shadow of a doubt that our having changed from being an exporting to an importing country, is entirely owing to the demand having shot a head of the supply, in despite of the wonderful increase of the latter. If doubt should remain in the mind of any one as to this being the real cause of the change, it would be removed by attending to the progress of the inclosure bills. The first act for effecting an inclosure was passed in the reign of Charles II. Since the revolution the progress has been as follows:

| Period | Number of Acts passed | Number of Acres inclosed | |-------------------------|-----------------------|-------------------------| | Queen Anne's reign | 2 | 1,439 | | George I's reign | 16 | 17,660 | | George II's reign | 236 | 318,778 | | George III's reign to 1797 | 1,532 | 2,804,197 |

According to this statement, taken from the report of the committee on waste lands, it appears that each inclosure act passed during that period of the reign of George III. which terminated with 1797, inclosed at an average 1,830 acres. Now it appears from the official returns, that from 1798 to 1833 both inclusive, 2,103 inclosure acts had been passed; and supposing each to have inclosed, as before, 1,830 acres, the total would amount to 3,848,490 acres, making, when added to the quantity inclosed previously to 1798, an aggregate of no less than 5,652,687 acres inclosed since 1760. But as it seems probable that the earlier acts would apply to a larger extent of land than the later ones, we may perhaps estimate the total extent of land inclosed and divided by act of parliament from 1760 to 1833 at from 5,500,000 to 5,800,000 acres. And it may be safely affirmed, that in consequence of its inclosure, the produce of this immense extent of land has been increased at least from four to five fold.

As might be expected, a decidedly greater number of inclosure acts were passed in 1802, and during the five years ending with 1814, when prices were enormously high, than in any other equal period of time. The principal crops cultivated in England and Wales are wheat, oats and beans, barley and rye, turnips and potatoes, with clover, hops, flax, &c. It is to be regretted that no estimate has been formed on which much reliance can be placed, either of the extent of land under different crops, or of the average product per acre. Mr Middleton, in his *Survey of Middlesex* (vol. ii. p. 640), estimated the whole land under tillage in England and Wales at 12,000,000 acres; and Mr Comber, in his *Treatise on National Subsistence* (p. 52), estimated it at 11,591,000 acres. We incline to think that these estimates are not very wide of the mark as to the number of acres; but in both, the extent of land under wheat seems to be materially underrated, whilst that under fallow seems to be equally exaggerated. The following may, we believe, be regarded as a pretty fair estimate of the extent of land under the different species of crops, and in fallow, in England and Wales, on an average of the last half dozen years.

| Crops | Acres | Produce per Acre Quarters | Total Produce Quarters | Price per Quarter | Value | |------------------------|-----------|---------------------------|------------------------|-------------------|---------| | Wheat | 3,800,000 | 3 | 11,400,000 | 60 | 34,200,000 | | Barley and rye | 900,000 | 4 | 3,600,000 | 30 | 5,400,000 | | Oats and beans | 3,000,000 | 4 | 13,500,000 | 25 | 16,875,000 | | Roots | 1,200,000 | £5 5 0 | | | 13,125,000 | | Clover | 1,300,000 | per acre | | | | | **Totals** | | | 28,500,000 | | 69,600,000 |

The oats and beans are here blended together and reckoned at the price of oats; whereas beans are about 10s. a quarter higher. Allowing for this, the two may be worth together L.17,500,000. The grounds occupied as gardens, hop-plantations, &c., may produce, at an average, about L.15 an acre, or L.2,250,000 a year; making the total value of the different crops raised in England and Wales L.72,475,000.

Attempts have frequently been made to estimate the expenses attending the cultivation of land at different periods; but we have not seen any statement of the sort on which we should be disposed to place much reliance. A good deal of the expense is of a very fluctuating nature, depending on the prices of grain and stock, the rate of wages, amount of capital employed and interest thereon, rent, public burdens, &c. It may probably be considered, and taking all things into account, that the expenses of cultivation in England and Wales are at this moment about thirty per cent. higher than in 1792.

Owing to the improvements in the breed and in the feeding of cattle, the weight of those now annually slaughtered has increased from a third to a half above what it is stated by Dr Davenant to have been at the beginning of last century. Various discordant estimates have been formed of the number of cattle in England and Wales; but the best authorities seem to think that they may amount to 4,000,000 or 4,500,000.

Horses are of course far less numerous than cattle, and are proved by the tax returns not to exceed 1,400,000 or 1,500,000. (See McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary, art. Horses.)

Sheep.

According to the elaborate tables of Mr Luceock, revised by Mr Hubbard, there appears to be in England and Wales nearly 15,000,000 of short, and rather more than 4,000,000 of long-woolled sheep, with about 7,000,000 lambs. The weight and value of the fleece varies very much according to breed, keep, &c. But, at an average, the weight of the fleeces of short-woolled sheep may be taken at from three to four pounds, and those of the long-woolled at from seven to nine pounds. The total quantity of wool annually produced in England and Wales is estimated by the same gentlemen at 385,000 packs, of 240 pounds each. Merinos were introduced about the beginning of the present century, and were imported in large numbers after our alliance with Spain in 1809. Opinions differ in regard to their utility, the carcass not having answered so well as the fleece. Considerable advantage, however, has been derived from crossing them with our own breeds, and further experience may lead to more beneficial results.

The great pasturage counties are Leicester, Northampton, Lincoln, and Somerset. Of the counties producing butter and cheese, the principal are Cheshire, Gloucestershire, and Wiltshire. But notwithstanding the immense supplies of these articles produced at home, the demand is such, that at an average we import about 130,000 cwt.s a year of foreign butter, and about an equal quantity of cheese, principally from Holland. The average annual importation of Irish butter into England cannot be precisely ascertained; but in 1825 it amounted to 425,000 cwt.s, and may now (1834) be taken at 500,000.

The produce of grass-lands may be determined in two ways; either by ascertaining the quantity and value of the different articles annually produced, or by taking a general rough average value per acre. The former would be the most satisfactory mode; but the details are too numerous and too loose to admit of their being put forward with much confidence. We believe, however, that the annual value of the various products derived from pasture-land may be estimated, on an average, at about £3.10s. an acre; being equivalent, upon 17,000,000 acres, to £59,500,000.

This sum of £59,500,000 consists, probably, of the following items:

| Item | Value | |-------------------------------|-------------| | Cattle 1,000,000, at £20 each | £20,000,000 | | Calves 200,000, at £3 | 600,000 | | Sheep and lambs 6,800,000, at £1.10s | 10,200,000 | | Wool (exclusive of slaughtered sheep) 338,000 packs, at £1.2 | 4,056,000 | | Hogs and pigs 450,000, at £1.10s | 675,000 | | Horses 200,000, full grown, annually produced 3,000,000 | 1,000,000 | | Poultry, eggs, rabbits, &c. | | | Meadow and grass for work and pleasure horses 10,000,000 | | | Dairy produce, or milk, butter, and cheese | 9,969,000 |

The total annual value of the agricultural produce of England and Wales may, therefore, be estimated at about £132,000,000 (£72,475,000 + £59,500,000).

The rent of land in England and Wales is usually estimated at from one fifth to one fourth of the value of the produce, which, taking the latter at £130,000,000, would give from £26,000,000 to £32,500,000, or £29,250,000 at an average, as the rent of the kingdom. We incline to think that this is pretty near the real amount. In 1810 the rent of England and Wales, as ascertained by the property-tax commissioners, was £29,500,673; and the general opinion amongst persons well informed as to such matters seems to be, that the rent at present is about equal to the rent in 1810; the rise that took place in the four succeeding years having been balanced by the fall that has taken place since.

The capital employed in the cultivation and stocking of the land in England cannot be estimated, at the present capital prices, at less than from £6 to £7 an acre; which, excluding waste land, would give a total capital of from £172,494,000 to £201,243,000. It appears from the property-tax returns for 1810, that the profits made by the occupiers were almost identical with the rent. But it will be observed, that, besides the interest on, or return for, the capital employed in farming, the profits in question included all that the occupiers received on account of their trouble in superintendence, and for the greater part of their own labour and that of their families.

We have already, in the article AGRICULTURE, treated of the points of superiority in our husbandry over that of the Continent; ascribing it to various causes, and to none more than the medium size of our farms, which differ equally from the large unmanageable tracts held by Polish noblemen, and the diminutive occupancies so common amongst the French peasantry, particularly since the Revolution.

The size of farms in England is greatest in the best cultivated districts, that is, in the counties to the east of the metropolis, viz. Kent, Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. Farms are also extensive in Northumberland. In these counties the engagements of farmers are for larger sums than in East Lothian, Berwickshire, or any part of Scotland, rents being frequently from £800 to £1,200 and £1,500 a year. In more retired districts, particularly in Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Wales, the occupancies, whether farmed or held in property, are in general very small; and an average of all the farms of England and Wales would not much exceed £150 a year.

Leases in England are, with the exception of particular districts, granted for seven years only; when the term is longer the case is peculiar, and applies to land which evidently requires very extensive improvement. But by far the largest portion of England is held by tenants at will, or by tenants holding only from year to year. There is in such cases something like an assurance, on the part of the landlord, that the tenant shall not be removed for a certain number of years, or that otherwise the improvements shall be considered and allowed for. When a tenant holds from year to year there is a written agreement, with specified covenants, the tenant being subjected to fines in the event of a deviation from them. Both methods are highly injudicious; and it is in the prevalence of these, more than in the existence of tithes and poor rates, that we are to look for the backward state of agriculture in many of our finest counties. No class of men have more liberality than the English landholders; but it would be in vain to expect a tenant to lay out much capital on the improvement of a farm of which his tenure comes to an end in seven years, or may be disturbed by the commission of a trespass or the occurrence of a death. A tenant so situated loses the habit of reflecting on improvements, and even of carrying into effect those which he is aware would in time be advantageous. If he succeed in saving money, he is much more likely to place it out at interest than to employ it in his own business.

In Scotland the rent bears a higher proportion to the gross produce than in England, being in general not less than from one fourth to one third. This is owing not certainly to greater capital, and still less to superior soil, but to an exemption from tithe and poor's rate, the use of long leases, and partly, and principally, we believe, to greater economy, particularly in the number of expenditure upon horses. It is in tillage, not in pasturage, that the Scotch farmers lay claim to superiority. On comparing English agriculture with that of the Continent, we find that our chief superiority consists in machinery and in live stock. Thrashing machines are in a manner unknown on the Continent, and all iron manufacture is of inferior quality. In regard to live stock, the countries which approach nearest to us are Jutland, Holstein, Holland, Flanders, and Normandy, all evidently indebted for their extensive pasturages to the vicinity of the sea; in the interior of the Continent, pasturage is, in general, very indifferent. Even in these maritime provinces, the cattle, though frequently large, are not fattened in the same gradual manner as in our grazing counties; and the meat, consequently, is not of equal flavour. In horses the inferiority is more apparent to the eye, and holds both as to size and shape. Flemish horses are large, but heavy; whilst the Norman breed, though capable of much labour, is small in size when compared with the English. Nowhere are horses seen of such bulk and strength as the drays in London. If they are, as is supposed, of foreign origin, they have greatly surpassed the primitive stock, since neither the Netherlands nor Holstein can now match them.

We cannot close this part of our subject without a few remarks on the connection between the state of our agriculture and the extent of our financial burdens. Those who compare the heavy pressure of our taxes with the lighter burdens of our continental neighbours, have in general the satisfaction of finding some counterpoise in the superior dexterity of our people, and the productiveness of our capital. This holds true in regard to our navigators, our merchants, and our manufacturers; and it holds in agriculture in regard to grazing, because in grazing little personal labour is requisite, whilst capital and active habits of business are of the most beneficial operation. But, in the department of tillage, much remains to be done ere England can claim any great superiority. Farms are yet too small in more than two thirds of England, and leases are generally too short. The course of husbandry is frequently injudicious, the ploughs are on a bad construction, and there exists a gross misapplication of animal strength. However light the soil, and however strong the horses, it is still customary to put three, four, and frequently five, in a plough, throughout almost all the west and south-west counties. These are the main causes of the comparative unproductiveness of our finest counties, and of our being obliged to pay so heavy a premium in the shape of corn laws to support our agriculture. Without the corn laws, our lower classes would be supported on nearly the same terms as their continental neighbours; and there would be no occasion, with all our taxes, to dread the competition of foreigners in almost any branch of industry; but if the manufacturers of England are obliged to pay for their support thirty per cent, more than those of France and Germany, whilst their wages are very little higher, what other prospect have we than that of increasing emigration and the augmentation of the poor's rates?

The quantity of land still remaining uncultivated in the Statistics, shape of wastes and commons is a frequent topic of animadversion; persons unacquainted with agricultural calculation calling loudly for this island being brought into culture, whilst the landed interest object to passing a general inclosure act, or, in other words, to giving unlimited scope to speculative cultivation. We by no means participate in the apprehensions of the latter; but we would abstain from giving any artificial stimulus to this, more than to any other branch of industry. Let the progress of inclosure be regulated by the gradual increase of our population, and the discovery of better methods of turning such land to account. No benefit can be derived from applying to this purpose any more capital than would go to it voluntarily; and every experienced farmer is aware, that the best prospect of profit lies, not in reclaiming new soils, but in bestowing further labour and expense upon the land already under culture.

V.—Mines—Quarries—Iron, Copper, Tin, and Salt Works.

In regard to minerals, England does not yield to any country in Europe in natural abundance, and takes the lead of all in the extent to which these rude treasures have been converted to purposes of utility. Our great superiority lies in our coal-mines, which are not only more productive, but much more advantageously situated, than those of the Continent. To the mines along the coast a ready conveyance is afforded by our insular position, and to those in the interior by our inland navigation. The consumption of coal in England for domestic use has been estimated at 20,000,000 tons annually. Large as this quantity is, and larger as it must be when we add to it the vast consumption of manufactories, such as iron-works, copper-works, salt-works, glass-houses, and the like, there is no reason to apprehend the exhaustion of this precious mineral; the depth of the coal beds being very great, and the extent of ground containing them amounting to many hundred thousand acres. The principal coal-beds lie in Northumberland, Durham, Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Glamorganshire. The ports for shipping coal in large quantities are Newcastle, Sunderland, Swansea, and Whitehaven. The motive of the tax on coal exported to foreign countries is thus neither an apprehension of eventual scarcity, nor even a calculation of revenue, so much as a dread of giving our continental neighbours the means of rivalling our manufactures. Coal is not wanting in France and Germany, but the mines are at a distance from water carriage, and as yet very imperfectly wrought; whilst for the purpose of domestic fuel the inhabitants give a preference to wood.

A material advantage was conferred on the coal trade, and on all the southern parts of the empire, by the late abolition of the tax of six shillings a chaldron on all sea-borne coal. Mr McCulloch, founding upon the calculations of Mr Ruddle and other eminent practical authorities, estimates the total number of persons engaged in the coal trade at from 160,000 to 180,000. (Commercial Dictionary, art. Coal.) The conveyance of coal from the Tyne and the Wear to London, and other southern counties, constitutes by far the most important part of the foreign trade of the empire.

In 1832 the exports of coal to foreign countries amounted to 588,446 tons, of the real or declared value of L238,615, producing a revenue of L56,706. We subjoin an account of the quantity of coal brought coastwise and by inland navigation into the port of London in 1831 and 1832, specifying the ships employed and the quantities furnished by each of the shipping ports:— In quarries, whether of stone or slate, England is not rich, particularly the eastern half of the kingdom; and hence the almost universal use of brick in ordinary buildings. It is not till the traveller reaches Durham that he finds stone commonly used. In the northern counties quarries occur frequently; in the southern, those of Portland and Bath are the most considerable. Still the annual profits of the whole are small when contrasted with the product of our mines.

No branch of our industry has increased more rapidly in the present age than our iron-works. A century ago it was computed that we required an annual importation of 20,000 tons of foreign iron; an importation which for many years seems to have been on the increase, so as, after the middle of last century, to carry the quantity required to 30,000, 40,000, and even to 50,000 tons. This supply was brought to us from Sweden and Russia, and, though burdened with duty, it was in quantity more than double our native produce. But fortunately, after the year 1780, discoveries were made which increased greatly our supply at home. Bar iron had been manufactured in England, as on the Continent, with charcoal fuel only, coal being deemed inapplicable to that purpose. Under that impression, the rapid consumption of the wood in the neighbourhood of our different iron-works had necessitated a removal, at a great expense, of materials from one spot to another, and was on the point of causing an alarming decay in the business, when our iron-masters, after long perseverance, succeeded in applying coal to their manufacture. They had to contend with various prejudices, particularly the supposed inferiority of iron so made; but, in the course of years, the manufacture acquired such an extent that there were, in 1805, two hundred and twenty blast-furnaces, making 250,000 tons of pig iron.

The transition from war to peace did a good deal of injury to some branches of the iron trade; but the effect of the change was not of long duration, and the production of iron has since been astonishingly increased. In 1820 the produce was calculated at 400,000 tons. The excitement and speculation of 1824 and 1825 had a wonderful influence on this department. According to careful inquiries made at the time, the furnaces at work in England and Wales in 1827, with their produce, were as under:

Staffordshire...........95 furnaces...216,000 tons. Shropshire...............31.............78,000 South Wales.............90.............272,000 North Wales.............12.............24,000 Yorkshire..............24.............43,000 Derbyshire..............14.............20,500

Totals..................266.............653,500

Owing to the failure of various rail-road and other projects set on foot in 1825 and 1826, the supply of iron seems to have greatly exceeded the demand; and there was a very heavy fall of prices in 1828, 1829, and 1830. But within the last two years prices have again risen to more than their former level; and the iron trade is at this moment in a state of great activity. The produce of the various furnaces of England and Wales may be estimated at 650,000 tons, worth at an average L6. 10s. a ton, making a grand total of L4,325,000. For more ample details, the reader is referred to the article Iron.

Copper-mines have long been known in England, but they were wrought with very little skill or effect until towards the year 1700. Even at that time the annual produce, after smelting the metal from the ore, was only a few hundred tons of copper; and it hardly exceeded 1000 tons annually down to the middle of last century. From that time forwards the increase became considerable, as well in Cornwall as in Devon, North Wales, and Derbyshire; in all of which copper-mines were discovered and wrought. In North Wales there were two mines, Parys and Mona, which, for some time after the year 1780, yielded annually a large quantity of ore, but they are no longer so productive; the mines of Devon and Derbyshire continue to be wrought, but the great product is from Cornwall, the mines of which yield 145,000 tons of ore annually; the metal obtained, varying from five to fifteen in the hundred parts, may be stated at 12,000 tons of copper. It is the Welsh collieries which afford to Cornwall, as to Devonshire, the means of smelting; and as the ore is less heavy than the coal required for this operation (one ton of ore requiring from two to two and a half tons of coal), the practice is to convey the ore in vast quantities to Wales, particularly to Swansea. The total quantity of coal consumed for this purpose at Swansea is nearly 350,000 tons a year, exclusive of a further consumption of coal at the copper-mines of Cornwall, in working the ponderous steam-engines used in throwing out the water from the pits. In this, as in other minerals, France is greatly behind England. She has various copper-mines, but her coal-mines, at least those hitherto wrought, are at too great a distance to make such undertakings profitable; and she consequently requires an annual importation from England.

The entire produce of the copper-mines of England and Wales is at present about 14,000 tons a year of pure metal; and taking the price at L100 a ton, its aggregate value will be L1,400,000.

In 1831 there were exported brass and copper manufactures of the value of L803,124, of which India, China, Cornwall is also the great seat of the tin-mines of England. A century ago the average produce of our tin mines hardly exceeded 1500 tons.

From 1720 to 1740 the average produce was 2100 1740 to 1760 ........................................... 2570 1760 to 1780 ........................................... 2740 1780 to 1800 ........................................... 3100 1826 to 1829 ........................................... 4677

The produce of the mines at present does not materially differ from the last of these averages. From abroad we receive tin from one quarter only, viz. the East Indies, in particular from the island of Banca. Of this we imported, in 1831, 776 tons, the chief part of which was re-exported to the Continent of Europe. Of our own tin, about the half is used at home, and the other half finds its way to foreign countries, particularly Russia, France, and Italy.

The lead-mines of England are principally in Cumberland, Northumberland, and Derbyshire; the whole being calculated to produce from 12,000 to 15,000 tons annually. Black lead is found in abundance in Cumberland, in the romantic district of Borrowdale; but the mine is opened only periodically, in order that the market may not be overstocked.

Salt is already a very important product in England, and is likely to become much more so from the measures urged of late years on the legislature, part of which have been adopted, whilst a further part seems only to wait a season of less financial pressure. (Report of Committee on the Salt Duties, June 1818.) Salt is obtained in several ways; partly from brine springs, partly from the rock, partly from sea water. In the last manner it is manufactured in various salt-pans along the coast, viz. in Hampshire, Kent, and Essex; also in the northern counties of Durham and Northumberland, where the abundance of coal reduces materially the expense of the process. But the great supply is from the rock salt and brine springs of Cheshire, situated in the southern part of the county, near Northwich. From these springs it is obtained (see the article Cheshire) at the rate of one gallon of solid salt from four gallons of liquid, whilst common sea water does not yield above one in twenty-eight. The consumption of salt in this country is immense. Necker estimated its consumption in those provinces of France which had purchased an exemption from the gabelle (pays frances redimentés) at about 19½ lbs. (Eng.) for each individual. (Administration des Finances, tome ii. p. 12.)

From all that we have been able to learn on the subject, we believe that the consumption of the people of this country may be estimated a little higher, or at 22 lbs.; the difference in our food and habits, as compared with those of the French, fully accounting for this increased allowance. On this supposition, and taking the population at 16,000,000, the entire consumption will amount to 352,000,000, or 144,200 tons.

Exclusive of this immense home consumption, we annually export about 10,000,000 bushels, which, at 56 lbs. a bushel, are equivalent to 250,000 tons. The Americans are the largest consumers of British salt, the exports to the United States in 1829 having amounted to 3,515,924 bushels. During the same year we exported to the Netherlands 1,583,517 bushels, to the British North American colonies 1,472,000 ditto, to Russia 1,388,490 ditto, to Prussia 949,834 ditto, &c.

The cheapness of this important necessary of life is not less remarkable than its diffusion. Its present cost may be estimated, at a medium, at from 14s. to 16s. a ton.

Salt has been at all times a favourite subject of taxation. In this country it was first taxed in the reign of William III. In 1798 the duties amounted to 5s. a bushel, Statistics, but they were subsequently increased to 15s. a bushel, or about forty times the cost of the salt. So exorbitant a duty was productive of the worst effects, and, in particular, occasioned a great deal of smuggling. The duty having in consequence become exceedingly unpopular, was finally repealed in 1823.

VI.—Fisheries.

A season of peace is always favourable to the extension of our fisheries; and, if we may judge from the progress lately made, this branch of our national industry is likely to be carried further than at any former period of our history. Of this we shall treat more fully under the article FISHERY. At present our space allows no more than a brief notice of the principal branches of our fisheries.

The mackerel fishery is strictly English, and is carried on with great vigour on the coasts of Kent and Sussex, in May, June, and July. Large as the supply is, it would still admit of augmentation; and herrings also might be caught in vast quantities on the coast of Kent in October and November. The desideratum with the fishermen, now that peace has reduced their expense, is not so much a high price as a certain market; and the most effectual way to procure that is, to quicken, by every possible means, the conveyance to London, which has been accomplished by the employment of steam-boats. The conveyance of fish by land-carriage from Brighton, and other parts of the Sussex coast, to London, has also been accomplished by improvements in the roads.

The pilchard fishery takes place chiefly on the coast of Pichards-Devonshire and Cornwall, and, though subject to great fluctuations, as well from the seasons as from our political situation relatively to the Continent, forms on the whole an important branch, employing a number of seamen both in catching the fish and in carrying it to foreign markets. Its season is generally from June to September.

The herring, the most important of all our fisheries, is Herrings-happily now in a state of rapid extension. It formed, during the seventeenth century, the great employment of the Dutch seamen, and was contemplated by their neighbours with very jealous eyes. Accordingly, in the reign of Charles II., particularly after the rupture with Holland in 1672, several acts were passed for the encouragement of our fishermen, and in a spirit of hostility to the Dutch. The subsequent accession of William to our throne, and the long friendship between the two countries, relaxed the exertions of government; and it was not till after the peace of 1748 that a large bounty was given on the tonnage of the busses, or masted vessels, so employed. Still our fishermen proved unable to compete with the experience and patient perseverance of the Dutch, and it was found necessary to raise the bounty from 30s. to 50s. per ton. This had the desired effect, and the number of busses increased; but the additional 20s. being withdrawn in 1771, the fishery again declined. The American war, and, subsequently, the wars of the French revolution, proved extremely adverse to its extension. At last, in 1808, an act was passed carrying the bounty to L3 a ton on the busses, with a further grant of 2s. per barrel on all herrings caught, whether in busses or boats. This act was further confirmed in 1815, and the bounty per barrel raised to 4s. with the qualification that the herrings should be gutted before curing.

In consequence of the encouragement thus afforded, the fishery was materially extended; but this was effected at a great expense, and had, besides, several bad consequences. The bounties given by government tempted persons Statistics, without capital or skill to enter into the business, to the great injury of the regular fishermen; so that notwithstanding the extension of the business, it was found, as is invariably the case with all departments carried on by means of a bounty, to be in a very unhealthy state. In consequence partly of the circumstances now stated, and partly in consideration of the real and substantial relief given to the fishery by the abolition of the duties on salt, it was resolved gradually to withdraw the bounty, which totally ceased in 1830. And we are happy to have to state, that though the fishery fell off whilst the bounty was in the course of being withdrawn, it has since been materially increased, and is now in a better situation than at any former period.

The curing of herring in Scotland is still subjected to the supervision of a public board; but we are not aware that its interference has been or can be productive of any good effect; and it will, we hope, be dispensed with.

Account of the Quantity of Herrings Cured, Branded for Bounty, and Exported, from 1811 to 1831 both inclusive.

| Years ending 5th April | Total Quantity of Herrings Cured | Total Quantity of Herrings Branded for Bounty | Total Quantity of Herrings Exported | |-----------------------|---------------------------------|---------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------| | | Gutted. | Ungutted. | Gutted. | | 1811 | 65,430 | 26,397½ | 18,880 | | 1812 | 72,515 | 39,004 | 27,564 | | 1813 | 89,900 | 63,587½ | 34,929 | | 1814 | 52,931 | 57,011 | 38,184½ | | 1815 | 105,372 | 54,767 | 83,976 | | 1816 | 135,981 | 26,670 | 116,436 | | 1817 | 155,776 | 36,567½ | 140,018½ | | 1818 | 204,270 | 23,420 | 183,089½ | | 1819 | 203,777 | 37,116 | 270,622½ | | 1820 | 347,190 | 35,301 | 309,700½ | | 1821 | 413,308 | 28,887½ | 363,972 | | 1822 | 291,626½ | 24,897½ | 253,205½ | | 1823 | 225,037 | 23,832 | 203,110 | | 1824 | 335,450 | 58,740½ | 299,631 | | 1825 | 303,397 | 44,288½ | 270,655½ | | 1826 | 340,118 | 39,115½ | 294,222½ | | 1827 | 259,171½ | 23,524 | 223,606½ | | 1828 | 339,360 | 60,418 | 299,778 | | 1829 | 300,242½ | 55,737 | 234,827 | | 1830 | 280,933½ | 48,623½ | 218,418½ | | 1831 | 371,096 | 68,274½ | 237,085 |

Greenland was first discovered by the English; but in this, as in other branches of navigation, we long allowed the Dutch to take a lead. It was not till after 1750 that government having granted a bounty of 40s. a ton on every vessel employed in the whale fishery, a considerable increase took place in this branch.

In 1750, the vessels employed were only nineteen; in 1756 they had increased to sixty-seven. The war soon caused a decrease of one half; but at the return of peace in 1763 this fishery revived, and in 1770 the vessels employed amounted to fifty, in 1773 to fifty-five, in 1775 to ninety-six. The American war again caused a decrease, and in 1782 the vessels so employed were only thirty-eight. In 1784 they increased to eighty-nine, and in 1785 to 140. After this they exceeded 200 annually till 1793; but the long continuance of the late wars reduced them below the half, and the advantages of peace have been counteracted by causes which have as yet prevented the English vessels from regaining the number employed previously to 1793. In 1832, the whale fishery employed thirty-nine English and forty-two Scotch ships, of the aggregate burden of 26,393 tons.

The Newfoundland fishery has been considerable for fully a century past. As a nursery for seamen, it is accounted of such consequence as to have formed the object of a specific article in most of our treaties of peace. The fish caught, particularly in time of peace, is sent less to Britain than to the Catholic countries in the south of Europe; a market subject to all the interruptions attendant on a change of political relations. The number of vessels employed in this fishery at different times was as follows:

In 1731 ........................................... 70 1764 .................................................. 140 1774 .................................................. 254 The American war caused a diminution; but in 1784 the number was .................................. 236 1785 .................................................. 292

At this rate the fishery continued until the war of 1793, after which, particularly after our rupture with Spain in 1797, it fell off greatly; the fishing vessels in 1798 being only 140.

The continuance of war, and the aggrandisement of the French in Italy, occasioned additional depression; so that in 1810 the number of our vessels employed at Newfoundland did not exceed ninety-two. The peace seemed to promise a revival of this important nursery of seamen; and in the year 1816 the number of vessels which arrived in Newfoundland was 795, manned by 6000 seamen (Report of Committee in June 1817, p. 7); but the trade, both then and in 1817 and 1818, proved unprofitable, in consequence of indifferent seasons, of the high duty imposed on fish imported in British vessels into Naples, and of the competition of the French fishermen, supported by a high bounty from their government. Of late years very few British ships have gone to the Banks; but we carry on an extensive fishing along the coast of Labrador, and on the shores of Newfoundland. But the more convenient situation of the New Englanders, who are very expert fishermen, give them advantages with which the British find it very difficult to contend; and, partly from this cause, and partly from the forcing system of the French, and the greater duties laid on the importation of salted fish into It is matter of surprise to foreigners that a maritime nation should not have more effectually cultivated this great means of facilitating the support of our population. The ample supply which might have been afforded by the Nymph Bank, on the south-east coast of Ireland, has been avowedly neglected; and it was only in 1818 that we made the discovery of a bank of almost equal productivity in the vicinity of Orkney. Fish is little known to the mass of the people in our inland counties. Whilst the value of butcher's meat annually consumed in England exceeds £30,000,000 sterling, the value of the fish caught upon our coasts and in our rivers hardly exceeds £2,000,000. Yet its price, with the economy and improved arrangements attendant on a state of peace, would not exceed 2s. a cwt., whilst other animal food costs more than twice that sum. But the truth is, that fish has never been a favourite article of food with the bulk of the English people; and, notwithstanding all that has been said to the contrary, we are by no means satisfied that they would gain materially by a change in this respect.

VII.—Manufactures.

In this great department of our productive industry we begin with woollens, which, although no longer the largest of our manufactures in point of exportation, nor even in the value annually made, is entitled to the first place from the priority of its establishment, as well as from the substantial basis on which it rests. England, from the extent of her pastures, abounded in wool from a very remote age, and the inhabitants were doubtless capable of manufacturing it into rude clothing; each weaver working in his separate cottage, and with very little aid from machinery. In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries we appear to have had only the most humble fabrics, and to have imported all cloth of finer texture; sending abroad our wool in quantities to Flanders, a country the inhabitants of which were at that period much further advanced than the rest of Europe, with the exception of Italy. It was in the middle of the fourteenth century that a better system was introduced. Flemish manufacturers were invited over to England, and improved greatly the quality of our home-made woollens. The seats of this branch of industry appear at that time to have been Kent and Essex; afterwards Gloucestershire, and subsequently the West Riding of Yorkshire. It occupied at first the southern and more improved districts, and spread afterwards to the northward, on account of the cheapness of labour, the abundance of coal, and the convenience of waterfalls for the machinery. The general character of the woollen manufacture of England has been that of slow progress, but of little fluctuation; the latter evidently a consequence of its depending more on home consumption than on exportation. In the long period from 1700 to 1780, the exports experienced a regular but not rapid rise, amounting in the latter years to about £3,500,000, whilst our home consumption increased in proportion to our augmenting numbers. More recently the manufacture has been materially improved by the adoption of various important mechanical inventions in the spinning, weaving, and dressing departments. On the whole, however, improvement has been much less rapid in it than in the cotton manufacture; so that whilst our exports of cotton stuffs and yarn have increased beyond all precedent, those of woollens have been comparatively stationary.

As we shall enter fully, in the article Woollen Manufacture, into the details connected with its history, progress, and present state, it would be useless, even if our limits permitted, to anticipate these here. We shall only observe, therefore, that the entire value of the manufacture is estimated by the best authorities at £18,000,000, which is believed to be distributed nearly as follows:

- Raw material (wool): £6,000,000 - Oil, dye-stuffs, soap, &c.: £1,200,000 - Wear and tear of capital and profit: £3,500,000 - Wages: £7,300,000

Total: £18,000,000

Now, supposing that each person, young and old, male and female, engaged in the manufacture, earns, at an average, £20 a year, the total number employed will be 365,000.

By far the largest proportion of the raw material of the manufacture is the produce of our own flocks; but for many years past, and especially since the peace, we have imported large quantities of wool, principally from Germany. The subjoined accounts give a full view of the state of the foreign woollen trade in 1831, the last year for which the details have been published.

Account specifying the Countries to which Woollen Goods were exported in 1831, exhibiting the Quantity and declared Value of those sent to each. (Parliamentary Paper, No. 550, September 1833.)

| Countries to which Exported | Entered by the Piece | Entered by the Yard | |---------------------------|---------------------|--------------------| | | Quantity. | Declared Value. | | NORTHERN EUROPE | Pieces. | L. | | Russia | 31,796 | 94,599 | | Sweden | 1,935 | 1,903 | | Norway | 4,774 | 12,907 | | Denmark | 1,094 | 1,827 | | Prussia | 95 | 323 | | Germany | 337,183 | 359,482 | | The Netherlands | 90,011 | 161,101 |

| Hosiery and Small Wares | Quantity. | Declared Value. | |---------------------------|---------------------|--------------------| | | Yards. | L. | | | 112,320 | 6,609 | | | 2,702 | 254 | | | 3,364 | 236 | | | 10,851 | 489 | | | 528 | 59 | | | 728,044 | 56,572 | | | 392,775 | 24,579 |

Carry forward: 466,888 L.632,042 1,250,584 L.88,798 L.25,293 ## Woollen Manufactures, viz.

| Countries to which Exported | Entered by the Piece | Entered by the Yard | |-----------------------------|---------------------|--------------------| | | Quantity | Quantity | | | Pieces | L. | Yards | L. | | Brought forward | 466,888 | 632,042 | 1,250,584 | 88,798 | | **Southern Europe** | | | | 25,293 | | France | 5,034 | 9,090 | 24,999 | 2,144 | | Portugal, Proper | 51,011 | 138,914 | 50,930 | 4,739 | | Azores | 2,336 | 8,659 | 7,700 | 564 | | Madeira | 1,153 | 4,912 | 2,612 | 200 | | Spain and the Balearic Islands | 47,885 | 97,017 | 64,710 | 6,296 | | Canaries | 1,314 | 3,832 | 10,799 | 715 | | Gibraltar | 5,251 | 12,376 | 23,267 | 2,102 | | Italy and the Italian Islands | 97,091 | 196,126 | 87,915 | 5,877 | | Malta | 1,853 | 7,576 | 6,713 | 623 | | Ionian Islands | 175 | 681 | 1,510 | 151 | | Turkey and Continental Greece | 5,117 | 17,275 | 8,683 | 898 | | Morea and Greek Islands | | | | | | **Africa** | | | | | | Egypt (Ports on the Mediterranean) | 72 | 380 | 356 | 26 | | Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco | | | 80 | 10 | | Western coast of Africa | 2,623 | 4,620 | 5,082 | 339 | | Cape of Good Hope | 8,253 | 23,274 | 60,035 | 3,726 | | St Helena | 128 | 936 | 7,538 | 581 | | Mauritius | 2,865 | 6,939 | 3,427 | 294 | | **Asia** | | | | | | East India Company's Territories, Ceylon and China | 224,641 | 634,074 | 105,398 | 8,945 | | Sumatra, Java, and other islands of the Indian Seas | 11,216 | 25,115 | 3,660 | 232 | | Philippine Islands | 240 | 455 | 7,776 | 518 | | New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and Swan River | 3,918 | 16,145 | 93,774 | 8,404 | | New Zealand and South Sea Islands | 138 | 483 | 13,500 | 1,220 | | **America** | | | | | | British Northern Colonies | 89,203 | 271,484 | 900,124 | 58,226 | | British West Indies | 23,072 | 62,009 | 149,952 | 10,439 | | Hayti | 1,454 | 5,156 | 675 | 87 | | Cuba and other Foreign West Indies | 8,737 | 31,263 | 74,077 | 5,065 | | United States of America | 833,110 | 1,890,838 | 2,586,409 | 266,198 | | **States of Central and Southern America, viz.** | | | | | | Mexico | 15,094 | 61,938 | 15,467 | 2,080 | | Colombia | 3,244 | 16,835 | 18,109 | 1,810 | | Brazil | 24,175 | 76,865 | 71,528 | 5,407 | | States of the Rio de la Plata | 14,910 | 58,137 | 49,119 | 5,077 | | Chili | 21,282 | 137,307 | 18,315 | 1,353 | | Peru | 15,911 | 101,333 | 19,385 | 2,488 | | Isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Man, &c. | 7,954 | 26,916 | 52,693 | 5,324 | | Total export | 1,997,348 | L.4,580,902 | 5,797,546 | L.500,956 |

**Imports of Wool.**—During the year 1831 we imported 31,652,029 lbs. of wool, of which 22,437,022 lbs. came from Germany, 3,474,823 lbs. from Spain, 2,493,337 lbs. from New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land, with smaller quantities from France, Portugal, Prussia, &c.

For an account of the prices and qualities of wool, &c., the reader is referred to article Wool in this work, or in McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary.

Our cotton manufacture is entitled to the greatest attention on different accounts. Of all our manufactures, it affords the largest export, and exhibits the most rapid improvements in machinery. Its introduction, though not remote, is less recent than is commonly supposed. It appears to have taken place about two centuries ago, when it was established at Manchester; but it was long conducted upon a very limited scale. The raw material, imported at first only from the Levant, in particular from Smyrna, began, after 1660, to be supplied by our West India colonies. The quantity imported amounted, about the year 1700, to 3500 bales; but, increasing with the ex- tended cultivation of our colonies; it averaged, about the year 1720, something more than 7000 bales. From the colonial conquests of the war of 1756, our import of cotton received a further augmentation; but the manufacture increased very slowly, a great part of our cotton being re-exported to Holland, for the supply of Dutch and German weavers. It was not till after the peace of 1763, and the invention, first of the carding machine, and next of the spinning jenny, that this manufacture became considerably extended. In 1775, the average import of cotton approached to 18,000 bales. A variety of inventions, unequalled in the history of manufacturing industry, were now made (see our article on the Cotton Manufacture), which gave an astonishing stimulus to the business. Fine calicoes and muslins were introduced; the workmen were withdrawn from their detached dwellings, and collected into large factories, and the price of the finished article experienced a reduction, notwithstanding a rise in the raw material, and in the wages of labour. The period which followed the peace of 1783 is perhaps unexampled for the reduction of price and the consequent extension of sale that took place in regard to cotton goods. The commencement of hostilities in 1793 gave a pretty severe shock to the business; but the improvements in machinery continuing, the manufacture soon recovered, and has gone on increasing, under many vicissitudes, with a rapidity unparalleled by any other business, either in this or any other country. Neither does there seem to be any ground for fearing that this progress will be speedily checked. On the contrary, our superiority in all that contributes to the advancement of the manufacture is so very decided, that, provided the public tranquillity be preserved unimpaired, we have nothing to fear from the competition of others.

The reader is referred to the article Cotton Manufacture in this work for an account of the rise and progress of this great branch of national industry. But the following tabular statements are interesting, as exhibiting the present magnitude and importance of the trade, the sources whence the raw cotton is derived, and the foreign markets for the finished articles.

**Statement of Cotton spun in England and Scotland in 1832, and the Quantity of Yarn produced; showing also the Quantity spun in England, and how disposed of.**

| Number of Bags consumed | Average Weight of Bags in lbs. | Total Weight in lbs. | Weekly Consumption of Bags | |-------------------------|-------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------| | American cotton | 615,402 | 345 | 212,313,690 | 11,834-34 | | Brazil ditto | 135,298 | 180 | 24,353,640 | 2,601-46 | | Egyptian ditto | 45,864 | 220 | 10,090,080 | 882-00 | | West India ditto | 6,454 | 300 | 1,936,200 | 121-06 | | East India ditto | 55,416 | 330 | 18,287,280 | 1,065-36 | | Taken from inland stock | 33,160 | 310 | 10,279,600 | 637-36 | | **Total number of bags consumed** | **891,594** | **277,260,490** | **17,146-20** |

Allowed for loss in spinning, 1½ oz. per lb. 30,325,366 lbs.

Total quantity of yarn spun in England and Scotland 246,935,124

Deduct yarn spun in Scotland 24,338,217

Total quantity of yarn spun in England 222,596,907

**HOW DISPOSED OF.**

Exported in yarn during the year 71,662,850

Thread 1,041,273

Manufactured goods 61,251,380

Estimated quantity of yarn sent to Scotland and Ireland 5,700,000

Exported in mixed manufactures not stated in the above named articles, consumed in cotton banding, heads, candle and lampwick, wadding, and loss in manufacturing goods 12,000,000

Balance left for home consumption and stock 70,941,404 222,596,907 This annual quantity of 293,596,907 lbs. gives a weekly supply of 4,280,709 lbs. Mr Burns estimates the quantity spun per spindle, per week, at 8½ oz., making the total number of spindles employed in England and Wales, in 1832, amount to 7,949,208. Those employed in Scotland during the same year are estimated, in the same way, at 881,020. Mr Burns further calculates the number of looms employed in England and Wales at 203,703. The consumption of flour in the manufacture is much greater than any one not pretty well acquainted with it would really suppose. The average quantity required for each loom is estimated at 4 lbs. per week; making the total annual consumption in England and Wales 42,301,594 lbs. or 215,824 barrels of 196 lbs. each.

Account of the Export of Cotton Goods and Yarn in 1831, specifying the Countries to which they were sent, and the Quantity and Value of those sent to each. (Parl. Paper, No. 550, September 1833.)

| Countries to which Exported | Entered by the Yard | Hosiery, Lace, and Small Wares | Cotton Twist and Yarn | |----------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------------|----------------------| | | Quantity | Declared Value | Quantity | Declared Value | | Northern Europe, Russia | 1,960,634 | 68,412 | 7,252 | 13,959,666 | | Sweden | 18,280 | 615 | 216 | 708,510 | | Norway | 431,714 | 13,704 | 1,829 | 34,440 | | Denmark | 312,461 | 6,213 | 992 | 118,316 | | Prussia | 1,456 | 80 | 20 | 19,448 | | Germany | 41,520,616 | 940,441 | 205,527 | 20,435,442 | | The Netherlands | 13,285,524 | 883,127 | 214,123 | 9,091,238 | | Southern Europe.—France | 946,660 | 35,357 | 13,613 | 2,616 | | Portugal Proper | 23,377,245 | 373,916 | 13,454 | 281,096 | | Azores | 780,099 | 17,126 | 383 | 3,240 | | Madeira | 569,794 | 14,577 | 677 | | | Spain and the Balearic Islands | 4,756,552 | 129,778 | 9,503 | 36,170 | | Canaries | 631,079 | 15,646 | 515 | 2,500 | | Gibraltar | 9,909,009 | 238,732 | 6,158 | 39,196 | | Italy and the Italian Islands | 38,164,564 | 1,035,748 | 44,172 | 8,444,518 | | Malta | 1,967,953 | 49,594 | 1,403 | 342,740 | | Ionian Islands | 216,159 | 5,210 | 615 | 62,450 | | Turkey and Continental Greece | 24,565,580 | 585,473 | 3,335 | 1,735,760 | | Morea and Greek Islands | 344,893 | 6,540 | | 11,000 | | Africa.—Egypt, ports on the Mediterranean | 2,354,628 | 56,088 | 26 | 93,600 | | Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco | 7,810 | 123 | | | | Western coast of Africa | 2,384,000 | 75,058 | 446 | 280 | | Cape of Good Hope | 2,904,106 | 83,612 | 3,807 | 193 | | St Helena | 73,371 | 2,173 | 254 | | | Mauritius | 2,432,894 | 65,185 | 3,400 | | | Asia.—East India Company's territories, Ceylon and China | 43,885,852 | 1,182,574 | 13,972 | 6,624,823 | | Sumatra, Java, and other islands of the Indian Seas | 5,915,088 | 194,889 | 1,730 | 312,000 | | Philippine Islands | 1,132,583 | 33,639 | 13 | 18,800 | | New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, and Swan River | 1,905,428 | 61,567 | 8,380 | 7,233 | | New Zealand and South Sea Islands | 5,014 | 135 | | | | America.—British Northern Colonies | 15,618,106 | 413,737 | 25,536 | 307,997 | | British West Indies | 21,975,459 | 606,923 | 31,568 | 14,416 | | Hayti | 6,828,576 | 178,743 | 4,731 | 320 | | Cuba and other Foreign West Indies | 11,569,441 | 364,547 | 11,329 | 200 | | United States of America | 68,587,893 | 2,518,824 | 344,427 | 317,392 | | States of Central and Southern America, viz. Mexico | 12,150,426 | 471,208 | 23,712 | 784,215 | | Colombia | 5,757,562 | 177,559 | 9,060 | 28,880 | | Brazil | 26,271,527 | 681,461 | 20,540 | 2,740 | | States of the Rio de la Plata | 6,242,134 | 176,874 | 9,743 | 800 | | Chili | 12,793,220 | 431,323 | 26,851 | 4,800 | | Peru | 6,312,931 | 292,708 | 19,605 | | | Isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, Man, &c. | 1,013,852 | 44,864 | 35,755 | 4,405 |

Total export: 421,385,303

12,163,513

1,118,672

63,821,440

3,975,091 Such being the vast extent and importance of the cotton manufacture, the probability of our preserving our ascendency in it becomes a very interesting topic of inquiry. But it is obvious that a great deal of conjecture must always insinuate itself into our reasonings with respect to the future state of any branch of manufacturing industry. They are all liable to be affected by so many contingent and unforeseen circumstances, that it is impossible to predicate, with any thing like certainty, what may be their condition a few years hence. But abstracting the effects of national struggles and commotions, which can neither be foreseen nor calculated, we do not think there is anything in our state, or in that of the different commercial and manufacturing countries of the world, which should lead us to anticipate that the gloomy forebodings of those who contend that the cotton manufacture of England has reached its zenith, and that it must now begin to decline, will be realized. The natural capabilities we possess for carrying on the business of manufacturing are, all things considered, decidedly superior to those of any other people. But the superiority to which we have already arrived is perhaps the greatest advantage in our favour. Our master manufacturers, engineers, and artisans, are more intelligent, skilful, and enterprising, than those of any other country; and the extraordinary inventions they have already made, and their familiarity with all the principles and details of the business, will not only enable them to perfect the processes already in use, but can hardly fail to lead to the discovery of others. Our establishments for spinning, weaving, printing, bleaching, &c. are infinitely more complete and perfect than any that exist elsewhere; the division of labour in these is carried to an extent incomparably greater; the workmen are trained from infancy to industrious habits, and have attained that peculiar dexterity and sleight of hand in the performance of their separate tasks, which can only be acquired by long and unremitting application to the same employment. Why, then, having all these advantages upon our side, should we not keep the start which we have already gained? Every other people who attempt to set up manufactures must obviously labour under the greatest difficulties as compared with us. Their establishments cannot at first be sufficiently large to allow the division of employments to be carried to any considerable extent, at the same time that expertness in manipulation, and in the details of the various processes, can only be attained by slow degrees. It appears, therefore, reasonable to conclude that such new beginnings, having to withstand the competition of those who have already arrived at a very high degree of perfection in the art, must be immediately driven out of every market equally accessible to both parties; and that nothing but the aid derived from restrictive regulations and prohibitions will be effectual to prevent the total destruction of their establishments in the countries where these are set up. (McCulloch's Commercial Dictionary, article Cotton Manufacture.)

The seats of the cotton manufacture of England are, first, Manchester, which takes decidedly the lead of all other places; and, secondly, Preston, Bolton, Blackburn, and Wigan, all situated in Lancashire. After these come several other places, partly in Lancashire, in Cumberland, and the West Riding of Yorkshire. The introduction of cotton works into the last, the great seat of the woollen manufacture, is owing to the practicability of the same workmen turning, in case of need, from wool to cotton, and vice versa.

We have already noticed the surprising increase in the produce of our iron mines since 1780. This increase of the raw material, joined in some cases to the command of coal in the vicinity, and in all to a facility of conveyance Statistics of coal and iron by canals, has, in the last forty years, given a great extension to our hardware manufacture. In it we take the lead of foreigners as decidedly as in our cottons; and if the ratio of increase has not been altogether so rapid, it is owing, not to inferior ingenuity in the workmen, but to radical differences in the two manufactures. In no department has the subdivision of employment been carried to so great a length; in none are its effects in cheapening production so conspicuous. Birmingham and Sheffield are the two great work-shops for our hardware; the latter is confined to iron and steel; whilst, in the former, not only iron and steel, but copper and brass, constitute the materials of labour. Sheffield fabricates articles which are less for ornament than utility, and which possess, in general, a certain bulk, such as grates, spades, sickles, hoes, knives, tinders, fire-irons; whilst in Birmingham there is, in addition to articles of solidity, a surprising variety of toys, fancy goods, and petty manufactures; each trifling when considered separately, but the whole forming an aggregate of great value. The most insignificant of these, such as a brass cock or a button shank, passes through a number of hands; and each artisan performs only a single operation. He thus acquires an extraordinary dexterity in his limited department, and, in the course of a day, dispatches several hundred, perhaps even a thousand articles, through his particular stage; the result of all which is, that the price, when sold in quantities, is incredibly low. Another and very interesting feature in the situation of Birmingham, is the populousness of its neighbourhood. Yet in none of our large towns is living less expensive; an advantage owing partly to the abundance of coal, partly to the ready supply of milk and vegetables from the wide space occupied by the population.

The nail trade is carried on, not in the town of Birmingham, but in a part of the surrounding district: it is computed to employ 30,000 men, women, and children; for even this heavy article admits of a subdivision of employment, which lightens the labour, and enables the workman to avail himself of the aid of his family. Of the two towns, Sheffield is by much the more ancient; the command of coal and iron in the same neighbourhood having rendered it, so far back as the thirteenth or fourteenth century, a place for the fabrication of the homely articles used in these days by our ancestors. It is about a century since its razors, knives, and files began to take a more delicate shape. Birmingham, however, embraced a wider range, and advanced with much greater rapidity; but Sheffield also has its adjacent district inhabited by manufacturers, though to a much less extent than the vicinity of Birmingham. This district, called Hallamshire, extends six or seven miles to the west of Sheffield.

Hardware is made in several other places, such as Bilston, Wolverhampton, Dudley, and Walsall. Each of these towns is situated in Staffordshire, and, in point of manufacture, is small only in comparison with Birmingham or Sheffield. Articles apparently very trifling are manufactured to a surprising extent in different places, such as pins at Gloucester, needles at Red-ditch in Worcestershire, watch movements and main springs at Prescott in Lancashire. The total value of our articles of iron, steel, brass, and copper, including the manufacture from its earliest to its most finished stage, is necessarily fluctuating, but may be computed at £16,000,000 annually; two thirds of which appear to be consumed amongst ourselves, whilst the other third is exported to two great markets, the Continent of Europe and the United States of America. A return during three years of peace, but of unequal mercantile prosperity, will suffice to show the average of annual export. Quantity and Real Value of Metals and Hardware exported from Britain in 1831.

| Description | Quantity | Real Value | |--------------------------------------------------|----------|------------| | 1. Metals, as a raw material, or in the first stage of manufacture. | | | | Iron and steel, wrought and unwrought | Tons 124,312 | Ll,123,372 | | Lead and shot (partly from Scotland) | | 6,777 | 96,333 | | Tin, unwrought | | Cwts. 21,763 | 77,718 | | 2. Manufactures in a finished state. | | | | Hardware and cutlery | | 336,194 | 1,622,429 | | Brass and copper manufactures | | 181,951 | 803,124 | | Plate, plated ware, jewellery, and watches | | | 188,144 | | Tin and pewter wares, and tin plates | | | 230,143 |

The number of persons, young and old, employed in the hardware manufacture, is reckoned at between 300,000 and 400,000. In no branch of industry is the transition from war to peace more sensibly felt; government, the great customer for arms and artillery, withdraws entirely from the market; whilst the stagnation of commerce, the postponement of new buildings and new machinery, in short, the various evils inseparable from a sudden and general change, which have been so cruelly felt throughout Britain since the peace, all operate most materially against the sale of the heavier and more useful articles. Similar causes cast a damp over the purchase of ornamental and fancy goods; so that in no department of our population have the sufferings of the labouring classes or the augmentation of the poor's rate been greater. But there is happily a point beyond which depression cannot go; the reduced price of a commodity rendering it applicable to more extended uses, and adapting it to the means of humbler customers. Iron has not been found suitable as a substitute for stone in paving the streets of the metropolis; but, if its price continue low, it is likely to supplant timber for a variety of purposes, of which the public at large are not as yet aware. Reduction of price will lead also to a demand from the Continent for our hardware; the article in which all others the French and Germans are most behind us. Their mines of iron are seldom adjacent to their mines of coal, and, with the exception of a few places, such as Liège in the Netherlands, and St Etienne near Lyons, the hardware workmen are not collected in such large associations as to admit of the necessary subdivision of labour. As improvement advances, and a taste for comfort becomes diffused, the inhabitants of the Continent will extend their purchases; they will see in the keys, the locks, and other neat and convenient articles of English fabric, a substitute for the bolts, the latches, and other coarse contrivances, with which they have hitherto been obliged to content themselves. In the United States, iron and coal are found, it is said (Melish's Travels in America, chap. 67), in abundance, in a quarter (Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania) where land and provisions are certainly much cheaper than in Britain; but the scattered state of American population must, during several ages, oppose serious obstacles to the division of employment necessary in all the nicer branches of the hardware manufacture; particularly as the case with which the Mississippi and Ohio are navigated by steam opens even the western states to the importation of British goods. Upon the whole, therefore, we look on our hardware manufactures, notwithstanding their present depression, as resting on a solid basis, because in them we combine several advantages—the raw material, the command of cheap fuel, and the use of machinery, which, the more it is adopted, will bring a greater proportion of the work within the compass of women and boys, and thus lessen the proportion borne by wages in the cost of the finished article.

Linen has never formed one of the staple manufactures of England, flax having been less cultivated amongst us than on the opposite shore of the Netherlands; a country which, in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, supplied the rest of Europe with the finest linens and woollens. When England subsequently advanced in manufacturing arts, the abundant supply of wool pointed out the most suitable branch; and we were contented to continue our imports of linen from the Netherlands, from France, and from Germany, or to favour the manufacture of the sister island in a department which did not excite our jealousy. In Ireland, the linen manufacture dates about two centuries ago, and is said to have owed much of its extension to the measures of the unfortunate Wentworth in the reign of Charles I. The annual consumption of linen in England a century ago was probably not far below that of her double population at present, owing to the very general substitution in our time of cotton articles. Then, as at present, the linen manufacture of England was established chiefly in Lancashire, in Cumberland, and in a county very remote from these, namely, Dorsetshire. In 1745 government, apprised of the extension of the manufacture of coarse linen in Silesia and other parts of Germany, and actuated by the fallacious notion of making a monopoly of all kinds of productive industry, granted a bounty of 1½d. per yard on the exportation of all British linen of a value from 6d. to 18d. per yard; in other words, a premium of 20 or 25 per cent. on the prime cost of all inferior qualities exported. So large a grant soon augmented the manufacture of osnaburgs and other coarse cloths, particularly in Scotland, although the ratio of increase was infinitely smaller than in the case of cotton, where there was no premium, but a rapid improvement of machinery. The demand for bounty, in the ten years ending in 1785, was about L33,000 annually. More recently these impolitic issues were greatly increased; but at length the impolicy of forcing a manufacture in this way having become obvious to every one, the bounties, after being gradually reduced, ceased finally in 1830.

Ireland and Scotland, particularly Dundee, are both superior to England in the manufacture of linen. But some of the flax mills established at Hull are on a more extensive scale than any other in the empire. The reader will find under the head of Linen, in this work, an account of the value of the manufacture in each division of the empire, of the amount of capital, and the number of hands employed in it, &c.

In the silk manufacture, as in linen, we have had to contend with a formidable opposition in other countries, particularly in France and Italy; and we have also had to import the whole of the raw material. It would therefore hardly have been attempted by our countrymen, but for the great profits expected from an article of general use amongst the higher classes. Its introduction amongst us goes back to the fifteenth century. About the beginning of the seventeenth it seems to have been carried to a considerable extent, owing certainly not to the luxury of the age, nor to any great proportion of affluent persons in the community, but to silk being almost the only article of apparel in which the vanity of dress could display itself. Towards the end of the reign of Charles II., about the year 1680, raw silk English manufacture received a substantial addition by the numbers and ingenuity of the Frenchmen who settled in this country after the revocation of the edict of Nantes in 1683. Various circumstances thus contributed to preserve and extend the manufacture, which continued rather upon the increase till the general substitution of cottons for silks about 1790. This gave a serious shock to the manufacture, from which it recovered only by slow degrees. Its situation had not indeed been at any time prosperous; and the continued complaints of the manufacturers occasioned within these few years a fundamental change in the policy under which it had previously been conducted.

From the first introduction of the manufacture into England down to 1825, foreign silks were either positively or virtually excluded. But the monopoly which was thus secured to the manufacturers produced, what all monopolies invariably do, an indifference to improvement. Instead of trusting to the ingenuity or to the superior skill which they might have called to their aid for preserving their ascendency in the market, the manufacturers depended upon custom-house regulations, and additional penalties on smuggling. In consequence, invention was quite at a stand. Such indeed was the influence of the system in this respect, that in 1826 the member for Coventry (Mr Edward Ellice) affirmed in his place in the House of Commons that the improved silk looms in use in various parts of the Continent enabled the workman to execute five times as much work as he could do here; whilst in every business not protected by a monopoly the result was precisely opposite. At length, after a great deal of discussion, it was resolved to adopt a more liberal system. In 1825 a bill was in consequence passed, allowing the importation of foreign silks on payment of an ad valorem duty of 30 per cent, accompanied, however, by the effectual reduction of the singularly oppressive duties which had previously been imposed on the imports of raw and thrown silk. This measure, though vehemently opposed at the time, has proved most successful. We are quite sure that we are within the mark when we affirm that the silk trade has made more progress since 1826, when the new system was introduced, than it did during the whole of the preceding century. The following is an account of the raw and thrown silk imported since 1820:

| Years | Raw and Thrown Silk | |-------|---------------------| | | lbs. | | 1820 | 2,641,866 | | 1821 | 2,542,195 | | 1822 | 2,680,568 | | 1823 | 2,880,634 | | 1824 | 3,477,648 | | 1825 | 3,894,770 | | 1826 | 2,665,925 |

This table shows conclusively that the manufacture has increased nearly 50 per cent. since the adoption of those sound and liberal measures which have been the theme of so much ignorant invective. It is of importance too to observe, that not only our imports of raw silk, but also our exports of manufactured silk goods, are rapidly increasing. The following table shows this:

| Years | Declared Value | |-------|---------------| | 1820 | L.371,775 | | 1821 | 374,473 | | 1822 | 381,703 | | 1823 | L.251,409 | | 1824 | 442,596 | | 1825 | 296,736 |

It is plain, therefore, that the manufacture is not increasing merely by reason of an increased demand in the home market, but because we are rapidly gaining on our rivals in the markets of foreign countries. This affords unquestionable evidence of the improvement as well as the extension of the manufacture. In 1832 our exports of wrought silks to France itself amounted to about L75,000.

Leather, however little it may figure as an article of leather export, is necessarily one of extensive home consumption manufacture in every civilized country, particularly in such a climate as ours, and where there are so many rich and sumptuous equipages. It is matter of regret that we should have so very few data, official or otherwise, on which to form an estimate of the export or import of hides in former ages. Such an estimate would possess interest, as indicating the extent of our pasturage and the number of our cattle in comparison with our population. Whatever may have been the case at a remote date, the custom-house returns, for many years past, show, by the annual imports, that the demand for leather has greatly exceeded the home supply of hides. For a long time this importation took place from the Continent of Europe, and from the least civilized quarters; from countries, such as Lithuania and Poland, where the quantity of hides furnished by the cattle materially exceeds that of the leather required by the inhabitants. But since the opening of the trade to South America, it has been found more advantageous to import hides from that continent, where the herds of wild cattle are so numerous as to meet the eye of the traveller in almost every point of the horizon.

On an average of the two years ending with 1832 there were imported 199,033 cwt. of untanned, and 24,334 cwt. of tanned hides. The quantity of leather annually made in England and Wales may be estimated at about 45,000,000 lbs. The largest tanneries are at Bermondsey in Southwark; but there are also very extensive establishments of the kind in the country, as in Cheshire, Lancashire, Westmoreland, Cumberland; and also in Lincolnshire. The late war, by its long continuance, and the magnitude of our army and navy, produced great orders from government for our leather manufacture. Shoes were and still are made wholesale in several towns of Staffordshire, Cheshire, and Northamptonshire; but those made in London, by the principal dealers, are, though expensive, by far the best.

Of the annual value of the leather manufactured into shoes, boots, harness, saddlery, &c., there are no means of forming a correct estimate; but we have merely to consider the population of England, and the unavoidable extent of their wants, to be satisfied that from ten to twelve millions sterling are rather below than above the mark. But whilst our home consumption is so considerable, our export is comparatively small, and does not exceed half a million sterling. To Ireland, the leather we ship is merely tanned; to other countries our exports are in a manufactured shape. The duty on leather was wholly abolished in 1830.

Connected with our general manufacture of leather is the glove trade, a branch of no inconsiderable extent, being carried on in several of the midland and western counties, viz. at Woodstock, Worcester, Ludlow, Hereford, Yeovil in Somersetshire, &c. This branch of industry enjoyed for a lengthened period the protection of monopoly, which, however, was abolished in 1825. Many... Statistics, contradictory statements have been made as to the effects of this measure. We believe, however, that the depression so much complained of has not been produced by it, but by the substitution of cotton gloves for those of leather; and we have no doubt that, had it not been for the greater cheapness and improved quality of leather gloves, caused by the abolition of the monopoly, this substitution would have been carried much farther than it has been. The increased imports of the lamb and kid skins used in the manufacture show conclusively that it is not declining.

Brewery. We come next to a branch of industry of a very different description, namely, the brewery. The amount of capital and labour invested in brewing establishments in England is very large, and particularly striking to those who have lived on the Continent, and have contrasted our situation with that of the wine countries of the south of Europe. It is only in Flanders and Germany that breweries are numerous; and, in the latter, from the limited capital, and the scattered state of their population, there are hardly any of those large establishments which exist in our metropolis. In London this important branch of business is chiefly in the hands of about a dozen great houses, who, conjunctly with the smaller establishments, brew at an average 1,800,000 barrels of porter.

The following account exhibits within a brief compass all the information that can be desired with respect to the consumption of malt and beer in England, and the duties thereon.

Account of the Quarters of Malt charged with Duty in England and Wales, with the Amount and Rate of such Duty; of the Malt used by Brewers and Victuallers in the same; of the Number of Barrels of each sort of Beer, and the Duties thereon; in each year from the 5th January 1821 to the 5th January 1833.

| Year ended | Quarters charged with Duty | Rate per Quarter | Amount of Duty | Quarters used by Brewers and Victuallers | Strong, at 2s. 10½d. per Barrel | Table, at 1s. 11½d. per Barrel | Intermediate, at 4s. 1½d. per Barrel | Amount of Duty | |------------|---------------------------|-----------------|---------------|----------------------------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------|---------------------------------|--------------| | 1821 | 2,965,530 | 28 10½ 2½ | 4,311,446 | 5,666,817 | 1,518,696 | ... | 2,838,149 | 1 1 | | 1822 | 3,267,504 | ... | 4,718,360 | 5,969,891 | 1,528,575 | ... | 2,957,366 | 8 6 | | 1823 | 3,336,064 | 20 8 | 3,624,242 | 6,306,981 | 1,570,043 | ... | 3,153,661 | 5 7 | | 1824 | 3,105,644 | ... | 3,203,502 | 6,395,835 | 1,483,045 | 7,018 | 3,190,968 | 12 8 | | 1825 | 3,451,922 | ... | 3,560,693 | 6,660,968 | 1,544,048 | 15,660 | 3,326,277 | 14 2 | | 1826 | 3,696,592 | ... | 3,813,072 | 7,820,946 | 7,014,395 | 6,606,899 | 6,150 | 3,459,597 | 9 1 | | 1827 | 3,416,996 | ... | 3,584,084 | 7,629,628 | 6,697,133 | 1,603,633 | 7,707 | 3,268,655 | 9 9 | | 1828 | 3,137,042 | ... | 3,241,610 | 6,257,879 | 6,403,802 | 1,532,308 | 17,158 | 3,131,662 | 6 0 | | 1829 | 3,814,727 | ... | 3,941,884 | 6,240,621 | 6,550,310 | 1,530,419 | 62,617 | 2,228,807 | 2 11 | | 1830 | 2,928,569 | ... | 3,096,126 | 5,406,991 | 5,961,048 | 1,380,469 | 55,198 | 2,923,118 | 1 5 | | 1831 | 3,362,613 | ... | 3,474,699 | 6,16 10 | 3,570,332 | 1,065,262 | 41,834 | ... | | 1832 | 4,120,436 | ... | 4,257,781 | 6,284,949 | ... | ... | ... | ... | | 1833 | 3,958,721 | ... | 4,090,678 | 6,111 | 3,235,519 | ... | ... | ... |

The duty on beer having ceased on the 10th of October 1830, there are no subsequent accounts of the quantities brewed. There can be no doubt, however, from the increased quantity of malt, that the production of beer has been materially increased.

Spiritous liquors form one of the branches of manufacture in which England is dependent on her neighbours, as she imports an annual supply of corn spirit from Scotland and Ireland, rum from the West Indies, and brandy from France. It has been generally supposed that the consumption of gin has increased materially in England since 1825, when the duties were reduced. We are, however, inclined to doubt whether such be really the case, and are disposed to believe that the effect is more apparent than real; in fact, that it has resulted rather from a diminution of smuggling than from a positive increase of consumption. That such has been the case in Scotland and Ireland is beyond all question; and there seems no reason to conclude that it is otherwise in England. We subjoin a statement of the quantity of the different sorts of spirits entered for home consumption in England in 1832, and of the duties thereon. The consumption of British spirits has declined about 500,000 gallons during the last three years. The annual average consumption of brandy is about 1,200,000 gallons. Its increase in 1832 is to be ascribed to the notion then prevalent, but since exploded, that brandy potations formed one of the best antidotes to cholera.

Consumption of and Duty on Spirits in England in 1832.

| Spirit Type | Gallons | L. | |-------------------|---------|------| | Brandy | 1,508,924 | 1,697,095 | | Geneva | 13,833 | 15,567 | | Rum | 3,877,507 | 5,189,994 | | Home made Spirits | 7,259,287 | 2,722,233 | | Total | 12,159,551 | 5,953,889 |

To the remaining manufactures our limits allow of little space, though several of them would be accounted of great importance in any other country than England. The glass, the extent to which such articles as soap and paper are made pottery among us is amply shown by the excise returns; but the list of our exports is of more consequence to the political economist, not from the vulgar notion that it is by export only that national profit is realized, but as indicative of those commodities for which we possess, in our soil, our climate, or our colonial possessions, advantages that give us a superiority over our neighbours. Thus, in the case of glass, the abundance and cheapness of our coal outweigh the disadvantages arising from the duty, and enable us to make an annual export of between £1,400,000 and £500,000. In the manufacture of hats, likewise, our command of wool for the coarser kind, and of furs from our North American colonies for beaver hats, enables us to ship statistics, to an extent of nearly L200,000 real value a year. In earthenware we have the advantage of clay, of fuel, and of ready communication by canals. These, joined to the taste and ingenuity of individuals engaged in the manufacture, carried it, in the course of the eighteenth century, to an extent which has rendered it a national object; a tract of seven or eight miles in Staffordshire, called the Pottery District, being almost entirely appropriated to it. The population of this tract is about 60,000. The great outlet is Liverpool, and the shipments take place partly to the United States, partly to the continent of Europe. Our exports, comprising porcelain, average from L400,000 to L500,000 real value.

The stocking manufacture is carried on chiefly in the counties of Nottingham, Derby, and Leicester. It formerly employed vast numbers of women in knitting; but in this, as in most other branches, machinery has greatly superseded manual labour. Lace is made in vast quantities in the midland counties; and here also machinery has of late years been extensively applied. And so extraordinary has been the progress of invention in this department, that British lace at present commands a ready sale in all foreign markets, and is largely smuggled even into France.

We shall give, in a subsequent section, an account of the number of persons supposed to be employed in trade and manufacture, according to the returns obtained under the population act for 1821.

VIII.—Commerce and Shipping.

Much of what relates to the commerce of England has been already treated of under the preceding section, and the colonial part of our trade shall be noticed in the next. At present we are to exhibit a brief sketch of our commercial intercourse with Ireland and the continents of Europe and America.

With Ireland the intercourse of England is very great, that country sending us grain, salted and fresh provisions, live cattle, butter, &c., to the amount of six or seven millions annually, and taking largely in return our manufactures, particularly cotton, woollen, and hardware.

North of Europe.—From Russia our chief imports are tallow, hemp, flax, corn, linen, timber, pitch, &c.; from the Swedish dominions, iron and timber; from Poland, wheat, timber, and potash; from Prussia, wheat, timber, and flax. All these countries take our cottons, hardware, and colonial produce.

Central part of Europe.—From Holland our imports are not foreign merchandise, as in the seventeenth century, when the Dutch were the carriers of Europe, but agricultural produce, as oats, wheat, seeds, hemp, cheese, butter; also gin; the whole to a large amount; in return for which the Dutch take our hardware, cottons, and woollens. From France our imports have long been burdened with heavy duties, but still they are large and increasing; consisting chiefly of wine and brandy, and also of silk, lace, and gloves. Statistics—With Germany our chief intercourse is through the medium of Holland and Hamburg. Our exports are large, particularly in cottons, hardware, and colonial produce. Our imports are also very various and large, consisting of wool, corn, flax, timber, linen, and wine, from the vicinity of the Rhine.

South of Europe.—Here we enter on countries of much less industry. From Portugal we take wine in very large, and fruit in smaller quantities, in return for our cottons, our woollens, and our hardware. From Spain we receive wool, wine, brandy, oil, fruits, barilla, &c. Italy, without any commercial treaty, takes annually a large quantity of our manufactures, and gives in return silk, oil, and fruit. With the Levant our traffic is similar; consisting of an export of manufactures, particularly printed cottons and hardware, and of an import of silk, fruit, and drugs.

The United States are, notwithstanding their tariff, our best customers, receiving from us manufactures of almost every kind to a great amount, and sending us in return vast quantities of cotton, tobacco, rice, and flour; but the merchandise received from them being far inferior to the value of our exports, the difference is paid by remittances in money from the Continent of Europe, arising from American merchandise sold there. With South America a wide field of commercial intercourse has been opened; at present, however, the chief articles received from that vast region are bullion, hides, skins, indigo, and cochineal. The trade is, and will long be, subject to the various disadvantages of a newly-settled country, bare of capital, deficient in industry, and possessing but a small number of consumers of European commodities in proportion to its extent and fertility.

From Asia we import tea, indigo, cotton, coffee, sugar, piece goods, ivory, drugs, &c. Our principal article of export is cotton goods, for which, how singularsoever it may appear, India has, since the opening of the trade in 1814, become one of our very best markets. Besides cotton stuffs and yarn, we send to Asia woollen goods, copper, and a great variety of other articles.

From Africa we import drugs, ivory, teak wood, hides, &c. Our exports are but inconsiderable, consisting principally of cotton and linen manufactures. The hopes so frequently entertained, of opening an advantageous trade with the interior of Africa, have hitherto been altogether disappointed, and we do not suppose that they are destined to be more successful in future.

The following accounts refer to the trade of Great Britain. It appears, however, from the statement of the trade customs duties collected in the different parts of the empire in 1831, and which are given in a subsequent part of this article, that the foreign trade of Scotland does not, on an average, exceed an eleventh or twelfth part of that of England. The trade of Ireland is about as great as that of Scotland. | Year ending the 5th of January | Exports | Imports | |-------------------------------|---------|---------| | | British and Irish Produce and Manufactures from Great Britain | Foreign and Colonial Merchandise from Great Britain | Into Great Britain | | 1799 | L.18,556,891 | L.31,252,836 | L.8,760,196 | L.25,122,203 | | 1800 | 22,284,941 | 35,903,850 | 7,271,696 | 24,666,700 | | 1801 | 22,831,936 | 36,929,007 | 11,549,681 | 28,379,781 | | 1802 | 24,501,608 | 39,730,659 | 10,336,966 | 30,435,268 | | 1803 | 25,195,893 | 45,102,230 | 12,677,431 | 28,308,973 | | 1804 | 20,042,596 | 36,127,757 | 8,032,643 | 25,104,541 | | 1805 | 22,132,367 | 37,135,746 | 8,938,741 | 26,454,281 | | 1806 | 22,907,371 | 37,234,396 | 7,643,120 | 27,334,276 | | 1807 | 25,266,546 | 39,746,581 | 7,717,555 | 25,554,478 | | 1808 | 22,963,772 | 36,394,443 | 7,624,312 | 25,326,845 | | 1809 | 24,179,854 | 36,306,385 | 5,776,775 | 25,660,933 | | 1810 | 32,916,858 | 46,049,777 | 12,750,358 | 30,170,292 | | 1811 | 33,299,408 | 47,000,926 | 9,357,435 | 37,613,294 | | 1812 | 21,723,532 | 30,850,618 | 6,117,720 | 25,240,904 | | 1813 | 28,447,912 | 39,334,526 | 9,533,065 | 24,923,922 | | 1814* | | | | | | 1815 | 32,200,580 | 43,447,373 | 19,157,818 | 32,620,771 | | 1816 | 41,712,002 | 49,653,245 | 15,708,435 | 31,822,058 | | 1817 | 34,774,521 | 40,328,940 | 13,441,665 | 26,874,921 | | 1818 | 39,233,467 | 40,349,235 | 10,269,271 | 29,910,502 | | 1819 | 41,960,555 | 45,180,150 | 10,835,800 | 35,345,340 | | 1820 | 32,983,689 | 34,252,251 | 9,879,236 | 29,681,640 | | 1821 | 37,820,293 | 35,569,077 | 10,525,026 | 31,515,222 | | 1822 | 40,194,681 | 35,883,127 | 10,602,090 | 29,769,122 | | 1823 | 43,558,488 | 36,176,897 | 9,211,928 | 29,432,376 | | 1824 | 43,166,039 | 34,589,410 | 8,588,996 | 34,591,264 | | 1825 | 48,024,952 | 37,600,021 | 10,188,596 | 36,056,551 | | 1826 | 46,453,022 | 38,077,330 | 9,155,305 | 42,660,954 | | 1827 | 40,332,854 | 30,847,528 | 10,066,503 | 36,174,350 | | 1828 | 51,279,102 | 36,394,817 | 9,806,343 | 43,489,346 | | 1829 | 52,019,728 | 36,150,379 | 9,928,655 | 43,536,187 | | 1830 | 55,465,723 | 35,212,873 | 10,606,441 | 42,311,649 | | 1831 | 60,492,637 | 37,691,302 | 8,535,786 | 44,815,397 | | 1832 | 60,090,123 | 36,652,694 | 10,729,943 | 48,161,661 | | 1833 | 64,582,037 | 36,046,027 | 11,036,759 | 43,237,417 |

---

1 For an explanation of the difference between official and real value, see Exchange.

2 Records destroyed by fire. From the year ending the 5th of January 1815 inclusive, British produce and manufactures have been included in the returns of Irish produce, &c., from Ireland, and consequently omitted in the column headed Exports, Foreign, Colonial, and British, under which they had been previously returned. ### United Kingdom

| Countries | Official Value of Imports | British and Irish Produce and Manufactures | Foreign and Colonial Merchandise | Total Exports | |---------------------------------|---------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------------------|---------------| | Europe—Russia | 4,696,368 17 11 | 1,746,972 12 5 | 856,856 14 8 | 2,603,829 7 1 | | Sweden | 212,639 13 1 | 94,587 1 1 | 67,788 12 8 | 162,375 17 9 | | Norway | 91,678 10 1 | 92,599 1 1 | 58,225 5 6 | 150,824 6 7 | | Denmark | 410,981 7 2 | 173,280 1 11 | 83,423 8 3 | 256,703 10 2 | | Prussia | 1,200,102 7 5 | 264,618 2 1 | 564,684 12 10 | 829,302 14 11| | Germany | 1,684,165 8 3 | 7,667,147 0 3 | 1,806,480 8 9 | 9,473,627 9 0 | | Netherlands | 1,276,081 12 3 | 3,179,298 13 6 | 3,270,927 0 11 | 6,450,225 14 5| | France | 3,056,154 12 4 | 635,927 13 5 | 256,081 19 7 | 892,009 13 0 | | Portugal, Azores and Madeira | 520,616 18 8 | 2,251,594 3 0 | 68,197 17 1 | 2,319,782 0 1 | | Spain and the Canaries | 1,293,924 0 4 | 1,036,623 17 8 | 318,038 7 8 | 1,354,662 5 4 | | Gibraltar | 19,668 7 0 | 879,882 3 7 | 121,340 18 3 | 1,000,723 1 10| | Italy | 1,475,304 6 10 | 4,528,154 10 4 | 820,651 1 0 | 5,348,805 11 4| | Malta | 63,550 2 10 | 257,537 8 8 | 20,485 2 6 | 278,022 11 2 | | Ionian Islands | 187,185 11 4 | 71,592 13 2 | 13,383 8 7 | 84,976 1 9 | | Turkey and Continental Greece | 759,797 19 1 | 2,113,928 9 2 | 95,777 3 2 | 2,209,705 12 4| | Morea and Greek Islands | 29,273 6 9 | 28,563 12 0 | 1,743 11 10 | 30,307 3 10 | | Isles Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Man | 202,940 14 7 | 445,410 2 4 | 126,435 1 2 | 571,845 3 6 | | Africa—Egypt, ports on the Mediterranean | 17,180,433 15 11 | 25,467,207 9 8 | 8,550,520 14 5 | 34,017,728 4 1| | Tripoli, Barbary, and Morocco | 275,547 19 7 | 236,189 15 3 | 2,068 9 9 | 238,258 5 0 | | Western coast of Africa | 45,986 5 9 | 759 10 0 | 4,950 16 11 | 5,710 6 11 | | Cape of Good Hope | 299,105 0 5 | 352,182 17 9 | 155,275 19 7 | 507,458 17 4 | | Eastern coast of Africa | 183,481 14 2 | 351,107 13 3 | 28,940 6 1 | 380,047 19 4 | | Cape Verde Islands | 2,328 17 0 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | St Helena | 123 17 6 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | Mauritius | 44,512 3 8 | 28,439 6 3 | 3,030 9 10 | 31,469 16 1 | | Asia—East Indies and China | 724,285 8 2 | 268,963 16 4 | 11,984 17 9 | 280,948 14 1| | New South Wales, Van Diemen's Land, & Swan River | 7,920,182 3 9 | 6,521,532 19 7 | 426,068 0 7 | 6,947,600 11 2| | New Zealand and South Sea Islands | 191,841 3 2 | 427,378 18 8 | 149,735 11 9 | 577,114 10 5 | | America—British Northern Colonies | 6,442 10 0 | 4,056 12 6 | 815 8 3 | 4,872 0 9 | | British West Indies | 1,532,582 19 0 | 2,858,514 19 9 | 271,975 9 3 | 3,130,490 9 0| | Foreign West Indies | 8,448,839 8 7 | 3,729,521 14 3 | 258,764 6 4 | 3,988,286 0 7| | United States | 615,594 7 2 | 2,186,482 5 7 | 48,762 14 11 | 2,235,245 0 6| | Mexico | 8,970,342 8 3 | 12,007,208 8 11 | 588,965 9 0 | 12,596,173 17 11| | Guatemala | 160,751 12 3 | 1,112,916 12 11 | 138,852 4 10 | 1,251,768 17 9| | Colombia | 8,065 4 6 | ..... | ..... | ..... | | States of Rio de la Plata | 25,243 14 1 | 476,768 0 0 | 22,964 17 4 | 499,732 17 4 | | Chili | 476,272 14 10 | 582,086 6 4 | 8,224 8 10 | 590,310 15 2 | | Peru | 21,030 16 11 | 1,057,621 17 2 | 10,842 2 8 | 1,068,463 19 10| | Brazil | 42,377 9 3 | 624,639 11 10 | 21,392 9 3 | 646,032 1 1 | | The Whale Fisheries | 2,278,059 18 4 | 2,392,662 8 4 | 39,002 8 7 | 2,431,664 16 11| | Total | 273,800 19 9 | ..... | 1,914 0 0 | 1,914 0 0 |

Total: L. 49,727,108 14 6

Official Value of Exports:

| United Kingdom | L. | s. | d. | |----------------|----|----|----| | L. | 60,680,364 12 10 | 10,745,126 9 7 | 71,431,491 2 5 | ### III.—Value of the Produce and Manufactures of the United Kingdom, exported from Great Britain and Ireland to Foreign Parts, according to the Real or Declared Value thereof, specifying the Amount sent from each.

| Species of Exports | Years ending the 5th of January | |--------------------|--------------------------------| | **Great Britain** | | | Alum | 3,069 l 7 d | | Apparel, slops and Negro clothing | 334,213 l 13 d | | Arms and ammunition | 241,623 l 9 d | | Bacon and hams | 31,833 l 18 d | | Beef and pork, salted | 85,559 l 9 d | | Beer and ale | 206,876 l 16 d | | Books, printed | 93,351 l 3 d | | Brass and copper manufactures | 663,313 l 6 d | | Bread and biscuit | 9,654 l 2 d | | Butter and cheese | 123,792 l 8 d | | Cabinet and upholstery wares | 55,567 l 9 d | | Coals and culm | 102,862 l 9 d | | Cordage | 78,441 l 10 d | | Corn, grain, meal, and flour | 35,842 l 4 d | | Cotton manufactures | 15,206,183 l 2 d | | Cotton yarn | 4,132,258 l 7 d | | Cows and oxen | 2,348 l 10 d | | Earthenware of all sorts | 439,565 l 9 d | | Fish of all sorts | 245,750 l 11 d | | Glass of all sorts | 396,662 l 6 d | | Haberdashery and millinery | 384,701 l 2 d | | Hardware and cutlery | 1,410,936 l 4 d | | Hats, beaver and felt | 293,497 l 9 d | | Hats of all other sorts | 13,672 l 5 d | | Hops | 6,614 l 4 d | | Horses | 49,243 l 10 d | | Iron and steel, wrought and unwrought | 1,076,186 l 11 d | | Lead | 4,326 l 15 d | | Lead and shot | 106,765 l 15 d | | Leather, wrought and unwrought | 243,142 l 16 d | | Leather, saddlery and harness | 78,971 l 18 d | | Linen manufactures | 1,926,256 l 15 d | | Machinery and mill-work | 206,736 l 17 d | | Mathematical and optical instruments | 214,141 l 11 d | | Mules | 7,243 l 10 d | | Musical instruments | 51,784 l 11 d | | Oil, train, of Greenland fishery | 45,963 l 8 d | | Painters' colours | 99,965 l 3 d | | Plate, plated ware, jewellery, and watches | 190,297 l 15 d | | Potatoes | 5,451 l 17 d | | Salt | 181,200 l 2 d | | Saltpetre, British refined | 8,692 l 9 d | | Seeds of all sorts | 4,510 l 13 d | | Silk manufactures | 519,199 l 9 d | | Soap and candles | 220,315 l 9 d | | Spirits | 5,341 l 13 d | | Stationery of all sorts | 167,679 l 15 d | | Sugar, refined | 1,267,897 l 14 d | | Tin, unwrought | 106,134 l 7 d | | Tin and pewter wares, and tin plates | 249,619 l 12 d | | Tongue | 217,734 l 10 d | | Umbrellas and parasols | 1,345 l 11 d | | Whalebone | 32,998 l 15 d | | Wool, sheep's | 144,712 l 11 d | | Wool of other sorts | 33,460 l 2 d | | Woollen manufactures | 4,847,293 l 9 d | | All other articles | 859,063 l 19 d |

Total real or declared value of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom, exported from Great Britain to foreign parts: 37,694,302 l 5 s 4 d

| **Ireland** | |-------------| | Total real or declared value of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom, exported from Ireland to foreign parts: 560,200 l 4 s 11 d |

| **United Kingdom** | |--------------------| | Total real or declared value of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom, exported from the same to foreign parts: 33,251,502 l 10 s 3 d | ### IV.—Account of the Quantities of the Principal Articles of Foreign and Colonial Merchandise imported and retained for Home Consumption, and also the Quantity exported, in the year 1829 (Fractional quantities omitted).

| Article | Quantities Imported | Retained for Home Consumption | Quantities Exported | |----------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------| | Ashes, pearl and pot | 162,258 | 143,657 | 19,780 | | Barilla | ditto | | | | Bark, oak, and cork tree | 1,005,816 | 1,004,070 | | | Brimstone, rough | 302,038 | 313,766 | | | Bristles | 1,715,488 | 1,695,088 | | | Butter | 148,139 | 147,951 | | | Cassia lignea | 817,968 | 62,352 | 795,342 | | Cheese | 168,900 | 166,484 | | | Cinnamon | 544,225 | 29,720 | 586,108 | | Cloves | 36,071 | 48,638 | 57,904 | | Cochineal | 288,456 | 127,954 | 153,738 | | Cocos-nuts | 3,209,933 | 393,847 | 1,674,613 | | Coffee | 39,071,215 | 19,466,028 | 23,023,410 | | Copper, unwrought | 10,267 | 14 | 13,743 | | Cork, unmanufactured | 46,494 | 45,636 | | | Corn | | | | | Wheat | 1,544,969 | 1,267,914 | 52,190 | | Barley | 281,713 | 202,405 | 10,297 | | Oats | 541,858 | 192,889 | 58,635 | | Rye | 65,910 | 65,331 | 7,581 | | Peas and beans | 82,139 | 96,513 | 2,345 | | Wheat-meal and flour | 461,995 | 337,065 | 70,652 | | Cortex Peruvianus or Jesuits' bark | 405,552 | 103,695 | 296,858 | | Cotton, piece goods of India, not printed | 1,403,397 | value L44,883 | 614,085 | | Cottons, printed | 131,420 | 2,873 | 171,969 | | Currants | 119,927 | 114,076 | | | Dye and hard woods | | | | | Fustic | 7,564 | 6,006 | | | Logwood | 13,893 | 8,851 | 6,226 | | Mahogany | 19,335 | 16,546 | | | Elephants' teeth | 4,345 | 3,605 | | | Figs | 21,938 | 19,702 | | | Flax and tow, and codilla of hemp, &c. | 922,039 | 909,709 | | | Furs | | | | | Bear | 12,583 | 884 | 14,227 | | Beaver | 76,427 | 68,665 | | | Fitchi | 278,740 | 278,846 | | | Marten | 151,937 | 121,741 | 49,712 | | Mink | 77,361 | 34,109 | | | Musquash | 1,070,016 | 491,978 | 281,347 | | Nutria | 618,187 | 629,170 | | | Gitter | 14,862 | 857 | 14,751 | | Onger | 11,007 | 5,947 | 11,209 | | Gum | | | | | Arabic | 8,232 | 17,849 | 2,049 | | Lac-dye | 594,494 | 462,988 | 26,763 | | Shell-lac | 703,886 | 316,070 | 446,598 | | Hats, straw | 160,195 | 234,254 | | | Hemp, undressed | 374,932 | 422,121 | | | Hides, untanned | 286,416 | 231,874 | | | Indigo | 6,748,281 | 2,113,830 | 4,286,605 | | Iron in bars | 15,720 | 13,067 | 3,024 | | Lead, pig | 1,508 | 35 | 1,700 | | Leather gloves | 865,157 | 837,208 | | | Lemons and oranges | | | | | Packages not exceeding 5000 cubic inches | 53,215 | 48,921 | | | Ditto above 5000, and not exceeding 7300 | 130,946 | 130,348 | | | Ditto above 7300, and not exceeding 14,000 | 67,336 | 65,669 | | | Linens,—Cambrics, &c. | 40,778 | 41,224 | | | Linens, plain and diaper | | | | | Entered by the ell | 372,697 | | 451,533 | | Entered by the piece | 31,638 | | 30,175 | | Entered by the square yard | 138,458 | 692 | 124,200 | | Item | Quantities Imported | Retained for Home Consumption | Quantities Exported | |-------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------------------|--------------------| | Linens, plain and diaper—entered at value | 4,031 | 6,674 | 1,144 | | Liquorice juice | cwts. | | | | Mace | lbs. | 6,841 | 14,254 | 20,106 | | Madder | cwts. | 70,017 | 69,658 | | | Madder root | ditto | 33,541 | 39,804 | | | Molasses | ditto | 394,432 | 386,142 | | | Nutmegs | lbs. | 88,868 | 113,273 | 47,913 | | Oil: | | | | | Castor | lbs. | 396,104 | 293,028 | | | Olive | gallons | 1,153,834 | 1,334,758 | | | Palm | cwts. | 179,945 | 175,393 | | | Train—Blubber | tuns. | 5,754 | 5,754 | | | Spermaceti | ditto | 5,571 | 5,694 | | | Not blubber or spermaceti | ditto | 11,974 | 9,047 | | | Opium | lbs. | 48,634 | 23,970 | 41,919 | | Pepper | ditto | 2,015,184 | 1,933,641 | 2,962,063 | | Pimento | ditto | 3,599,268 | 339,013 | 2,732,493 | | Prunes | cwts. | 6,283 | 6,245 | | | Quicksilver | lbs. | 635,905 | 162,816 | 575,552 | | Raisins | cwts. | 145,750 | 121,737 | | | Rhubarb | lbs. | 146,881 | 33,673 | 91,738 | | Rice | cwts. | 222,547 | 116,854 | 95,584 | | Rice in the husk | bushels | 293,354 | 222,472 | | | Safflower | cwts. | 4,623 | 4,370 | | | Sago | ditto | 486 | 4,026 | | | Saltpetre | ditto | 176,459 | 155,095 | 34,537 | | Sarsaparilla | lbs. | 228,164 | 104,679 | | | Seeds: | | | | | Clover | cwts. | 40,529 | 88,662 | | | Flax and Linseed | bushels | 2,052,258 | 1,899,936 | | | Rape | ditto | 378,304 | 375,162 | | | Tares | ditto | 87,101 | 101,160 | | | Senna | lbs. | 187,492 | 192,601 | | | Shumac | cwts. | 80,191 | 78,874 | | | Silk: | | | | | Raw and waste | lbs. | 3,594,754 | 2,601,516 | 221,412 | | Thrown | ditto | 211,179 | 168,985 | 26,715 | | Manufactures of Europe | ditto | 132,313 | 121,584 | 6,909 | | Manufactures of India, viz. | | | | | Bandanas, Romals, &c. | pieces | 99,393 | 67,465 | 70,886 | | Crape in pieces | | 53 | Before July 5. | | | Crape scarfs, shawls, &c. | number | 70,299 | After July 5. | 13,981 | | Taffatics, damasks, &c. | pieces | 9,052 | L5,926 | 4,064 | | Skins: | | | | | Calf and kid, untanned | cwts. | 43,764 | 43,046 | | | Deer, undressed | number | 123,276 | 36,314 | 101,937 | | Goat, undressed | ditto | 306,579 | 182,062 | 113,724 | | Kid, undressed | ditto | 106,319 | 107,513 | | | Kid, dressed | ditto | 591,094 | 591,091 | | | Lamb, undressed | ditto | 1,888,487 | 1,887,891 | | | Seal, undressed | ditto | 289,541 | 252,446 | | | Smalls | lbs. | 376,675 | 353,468 | | | Spelter | cwts. | 84,603 | 12,430 | 79,279 | | Spirits: | | | | | Rum | proof gallons | 6,938,426 | 3,375,866 | 1,644,663 | | Brandy | ditto | 1,994,649 | 1,300,746 | 661,097 | | Geneva | ditto | 177,847 | 37,146 | 148,176 | | Sugar, unrefined | cwts. | 4,856,393 | 3,539,821 | 297,912 | | Tallow | ditto | 1,177,908 | 1,024,993 | | | Tar | lasts | 5,812 | 6,492 | | | Tea | lbs. | 30,544,404 | 29,495,205 | 251,971 | | Timber: | | | | | Battens and batten ends | great hundreds | 11,149 | 11,065 | | ### ENGLAND

**Account of the Quantities of the Principal Articles of Foreign and Colonial Merchandise, &c. concluded.**

| Article | Quantities Imported | Retained for Home Consumption | Quantities Exported | |------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|--------------------------------|---------------------| | Timber: Deals and deal ends...great hundreds | 51,587 | 51,890 | | | Lathwood | 10,386 | 10,282 | | | Masts, yards, &c. under 12 inches diameter...number | 13,475 | 13,676 | | | Ditto, 12 inches and above...ditto | 4,803 | 5,591 | | | Oak plank, two inches thick or upwards...loads | 1,433 | 1,551 | | | Staves...great hundreds | 95,953 | 89,009 | | | Teak | 16,924 | 16,835 | | | Timber, eight inches square or upwards...ditto | 549,259 | 541,565 | | | Wainscot logs, ditto | 4,221 | 3,407 | | | Tin | 2,674 | 2 | 2,581 | | Tobacco, unmanufactured...lbs. | 22,399,335 | 18,819,021 | 7,369,749 | | Tobacco, manufactured, and snuff...ditto | 169,634 | 66,743 | 27,813 | | Turpentine, not worth more than 12s. per cwt...cwts. | 262,832 | 277,509 | | | Valonia...ditto | 111,391 | 110,773 | | | Wax, bees'...ditto | 11,599 | 6,568 | | | Whale-fins...ditto | 13,305 | 12,876 | | | Wool, cotton...lbs. | 222,767,767 | 204,097,037 | 30,289,115 | | Wool, sheep's...ditto | 21,525,542 | 22,614,550 | 406,566 | | Wine: | | | | | Cape...gallons | 967,363 | 579,744 | 20,162 | | French...ditto | 498,320 | 965,336 | 109,292 | | Portugal...ditto | 2,405,342 | 2,582,084 | 246,570 | | Spanish...ditto | 2,841,030 | 1,964,162 | 442,881 | | Madeira...ditto | 320,581 | 229,392 | 168,446 | | Canary...ditto | 199,026 | 101,699 | 115,640 | | Rhensh...ditto | 85,858 | 76,396 | 9,153 | | Other sorts...ditto | 300,677 | 218,839 | 85,836 | | Yarn, linen, raw...cwts. | 29,646 | 29,645 | | | Zaffre...lbs. | 158,026 | 157,085 | |

The increase in the official, and the decline in the real or declared value of the exports, since 1815, has given rise to a great deal of irrelevant discussion. It has been looked upon as a proof that our commerce is daily becoming less prosperous, whereas, in point of fact, a precisely opposite conclusion should be drawn from it. We have already stated, that the rates according to which the official values of the exports are determined, were fixed as far back as 1696; so that they have long ceased to be of importance as affording any criterion of the actual value, their only use being to show the fluctuations in the quantities exported. To remedy this defect, a plan was formed during the early part of Mr Pitt's administration, for keeping an account of the real value of the exports, as ascertained by the declarations of the exporters. Those who contend that our trade is getting into a bad condition, argue that the great increase in the official value of the exports since 1815 shows that the quantity of the articles exported has been proportionally augmented, whilst the fall in their real value shows that we are selling this larger quantity for a smaller price, a result which, they affirm, is most injurious. But the circumstance of a manufacturer or a merchant selling a large or a small quantity of produce at the same price, affords no criterion by which to judge as to the advantage or disadvantage of the sale; for if, in consequence of improvements in the arts or otherwise, a particular article may now be produced for half the expense that its production cost ten or twenty years ago, it is obvious that double the quantity of it may be afforded at the same price without injury to the producers. Now this is the case with some of the most important articles which are exported from England. Cottons and cotton-twist form a full half or more of our entire exports; and since 1814 there has been an extraordinary fall in the price of these articles, occasioned partly by cotton wool having fallen from about 1s. 6d. per lb. to about 7d. per lb., but more by improvements in the manufacture. To such an extent have these causes operated, that yarn No. 40, which in 1812 cost 2s. 6d., in 1830 cost 1s. 2½d.; in 1812 No. 60 cost 3s. 6d., in 1830 it cost 1s. 10½d.; in 1812 No. 80 cost 4s. 4d., in 1830 it cost 2s. 6½d., and so on; and in the weaving department the reduction has been similar. Hence, whilst the official value of the exports of cotton goods and twist has increased from about £18,000,000 in 1814, to about £37,000,000 in 1830, their declared value has sunk from about £20,000,000 at the former period to about £16,000,000 at the latter. Surely, however, this is, if anything can be, a proof of increasing prosperity; it shows that we can now export and sell with a profit (for unless such were the case, does any one imagine the exportation would continue?) nearly double the quantity of cotton goods and yarn which we exported in 1814 for about the same price. In as far, therefore, as an abundant and cheap supply of cottons may be supposed to increase the comforts of society, it is plain that they must be about double, not in this country only, but in all those countries to which we export.

(M'Culloch's *Commercial Dictionary*, art. Cotton.)

The subjoined tables give a complete view of the shipping belonging to the different ports of the British empire, and of the navigation with foreign countries, in 1829 and 1830, since which time there has been no sensible variation. I.—Number of Ships and Vessels belonging to the different Ports or Places of the British Empire in 1829, stated in succession, agreeably to the Amount of Tonnage belonging to each.

| England | Ships | Tons | |---------|-------|------| | London | 2,663 | 572,835 | | Newcastle | 987 | 202,379 | | Liverpool | 805 | 161,780 | | Sunderland | 624 | 107,628 | | Whitehaven | 496 | 72,967 | | Hull | 579 | 72,248 | | Bristol | 316 | 49,355 | | Yarmouth | 585 | 44,134 | | Whitby | 258 | 41,576 | | Scarborough | 169 | 28,070 | | Plymouth | 302 | 24,888 | | Dartmouth | 349 | 24,114 | | Beaumaris | 389 | 22,076 | | Poole | 168 | 17,860 | | Exeter | 196 | 17,166 | | Lynn | 118 | 14,659 | | Cardigan | 281 | 14,643 | | Gloucester | 247 | 13,026 | | Rochester | 255 | 10,816 | | Bideford | 116 | 10,182 | | Lancaster | 107 | 9,410 | | Ipswich | 138 | 8,532 | | Portsmouth | 184 | 8,485 | | Southampton | 178 | 8,120 | | Milford | 116 | 8,104 | | Boston | 152 | 8,059 | | Swansea | 122 | 7,772 | | Faversham | 217 | 7,392 | | Maldon | 190 | 7,373 | | Stockton | 74 | 7,296 | | Weymouth | 85 | 7,175 | | Colchester | 235 | 6,745 | | Falmouth | 78 | 6,614 | | Aberystwith | 120 | 6,423 | | Bridlington | 40 | 6,290 | | Cowes | 151 | 6,015 | | Chepstow | 72 | 5,805 | | St Ives | 87 | 5,570 | | Dover | 120 | 5,525 | | Harwich | 96 | 5,513 | | Fowey | 81 | 5,470 | | Penzance | 92 | 4,981 | | Chester | 74 | 4,816 |

| Scotland | Aberdeen | 350 | | | Glasgow | 235 | | | Greenock | 371 | | | Dundee | 299 | | | Leith | 263 | | | Grangemouth | 204 | | | Montrose | 173 | | | Kirkaldy | 192 | | | Irvine | 135 | | | Dumfries | 183 | | | Bo'ness | 123 |

| Ireland | Belfast | 247 | | | Dublin | 289 | | | Cork | 256 | | | Newry | 161 | | | Waterford | 26 | | | Wexford | 135 | | | Londonderry | 32 | | | Baltimore | 86 | | | Drogheda | 30 | | | Limerick | 39 | | | Sligo | 20 | | | Galway | 19 | | | Celeraine | 10 | | | Dundalk | 6 | | | Westport | 7 | | | Isle of Jersey | 200 | | | Isle of Guernsey | 75 | | | Isle of Man | 217 |

Total of the United Kingdom and British Islands: 134,516

Number of men belonging to ships of Plantations: 20,292

Total of men belonging, in 1829, to the mercantile navy of the United Kingdom and Plantations, 154,808

Mercantile Navy in 1830.

| Great Britain and Plantations | 23,721 | 2,531,819 | 154,812 | ### General Statement of the Shipping employed in the Trade of the United Kingdom in the Year 1830, exhibiting the Number and Tonnage of Vessels entered Inwards and cleared Outwards (including their repeated Voyages), with the Number of their Crews; separating British from Foreign Ships, and distinguishing the Trade with each Country.

(Parl. Paper, No. 350, Sess. 1831.)

| Countries, &c. | Inwards | | | | Outwards | | | |---------------|---------|---|---|---|---------|---|---| | | British | Foreign | British | Foreign | British | Foreign | | | Ships | Tons | Men | Ships | Tons | Men | Ships | Tons | Men | | Russia | 1,661 | 321,426 | 14,698 | 99 | 26,905 | 1,231 | 240,638 | 11,253 | 88 | | Sweden | 62 | 32,116 | 583 | 127 | 23,158 | 1,175 | 55 | 8,020 | 412 | | Norway | 66 | 6,458 | 395 | 556 | 84,355 | 4,570 | 53 | 5,146 | 326 | | Denmark | 111 | 12,210 | 608 | 655 | 51,429 | 3,175 | 540 | 55,981 | 4,133 | | Prussia | 926 | 106,758 | 4,920 | 720 | 130,046 | 6,132 | 341 | 50,931 | 2,630 | | Germany | 926 | 156,997 | 7,516 | 616 | 54,300 | 3,018 | 876 | 133,847 | 6,724 | | United Netherlands | 1,156 | 120,391 | 6,029 | 3,011 | 5,096 | 3,039 | 111,770 | 9,968 | 642 | | France | 1,367 | 116,768 | 10,629 | 933 | 47,940 | 3,339 | 111,770 | 9,968 | 642 | | Portugal, Proper | 395 | 43,336 | 2,442 | 73 | 3,204 | 703 | 339 | 36,930 | 2,913 | | Spain and the Balearic Islands | 428 | 46,503 | 2,645 | 61 | 5,630 | 459 | 253 | 37,412 | 2,239 | | Canary Islands | 42 | 4,793 | 238 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Gibraltar | 30 | 4,196 | 239 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Italy and the Italian Islands | 333 | 51,512 | 2,548 | 13 | 2,253 | 157 | 418 | 33,397 | 3,347 | | Malta | 17 | 2,162 | 118 | 1 | 225 | 10 | 33 | 9,306 | 512 | | Ionian Islands | 32 | 4,394 | 240 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Turkey and Continental Greece | 95 | 13,616 | 700 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Morea and Greek Islands | 7 | 1,053 | 55 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Egypt (Ports on the Mediterranean) | 14 | 3,533 | 168 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Tripoli, Barbary and Morocco Coast of Africa from Morocco to the Cape of Good Hope | 11 | 1,127 | 63 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Cape of Good Hope | 23 | 4,276 | 230 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Cape Verde Islands | 1 | 142 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | St Helena and Ascension | 1 | 142 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Isle of Bourbon | 1 | 142 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Mauritius | 55 | 17,189 | 803 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | East India Company's Territories and Ceylon | 148 | 65,496 | 4,525 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Chios | 22 | 27,782 | 2,700 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Sumatra and Java | 3 | 1,189 | 59 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Philippine Islands | 6 | 2,466 | 121 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Other islands of the Indian Seas | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land | 26 | 6,668 | 502 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Swan River | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | New Guinea | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | New Zealand and South Sea Islands | 2 | 431 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | British North American Colonies | 1,709 | 452,397 | 21,338 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | British West Indies | 911 | 233,872 | 13,762 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Hayti | 21 | 3,719 | 198 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Cuba and other Foreign West Indies | 25 | 4,637 | 238 | 12 | 3,111 | 139 | 67 | 12,584 | 741 | | United States of America | 197 | 65,130 | 2,948 | 609 | 214,166 | 9,189 | 281 | 91,551 | 4,344 | | Mexico | 35 | 6,236 | 351 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Colombia | 17 | 3,268 | 186 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Brazil | 168 | 38,322 | 1,968 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | States of the Rio de la Plata | 51 | 9,754 | 531 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Chili | 7 | 1,242 | 78 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | Peru | 11 | 2,085 | 116 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | The Whale Fisheries | 97 | 31,897 | 3,835 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | The Isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Mann | 2,199 | 117,296 | 8,949 | 20 | 2,561 | 141 | 1,697 | 95,547 | 7,829 | | Foreign Parts, not otherwise described | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | | Total, all parts of the world | 13,548 | 2,189,042 | 122,105 | 5,359 | 758,829 | 41,670 | 12,747 | 2,102,147 | 122,025 |

Steam-Boats belonging to Great Britain in 1829, and to Ireland in 1828.

| Vessels | England | Scotland | Ireland | |---------|---------|----------|---------| | | 241 | 75 | 26 | | | 20,611 | 5,953 | 4,791 | IX.—Establishments for Religion and Education.

The church of England has two archbishops and twenty-four bishops, all peers of the realm, and all indebted for their appointment to the crown. The bishop of the Isle of Man, formerly appointed by the Duke of Atholl, is now also appointed by the crown, but has no seat in the House of Lords. The province of York comprises four bishoprics, viz. Durham, Carlisle, Chester, and the Isle of Man; all the rest, to the number of twenty-one, are in the province of Canterbury. The clerical dignitary next to the bishop is the archdeacon, whose duty, though very different in different dioceses, may be termed that of a representative of the bishop in several of his less important functions. The number of archdeacons in England is about sixty. The name of Dean (Decanus) was probably derived from his originally superintending ten canons or prebendaries. Each bishop has a chapter or council appointed to assist him, and each chapter has a dean as its president; but there are in the church of England many deaneries of other descriptions. Rector is, in general, the title of a clergyman holding a living, of which the tithes are entire; vicar is understood of a living where the great tithes have passed into secular hands. The very general name of curate signifies sometimes (as curé in France) a clergyman in possession of a living, but more frequently one exercising the spiritual office in a parish under the rector or vicar. The latter are temporary curates, their appointment being a matter of arrangement with the rector or vicar; the former, being more permanent, are called perpetual curates, and are appointed by the impropriator of the title in a parish which has neither rector nor vicar. The name of priest is, in general, confined to the clergy of the church of Rome; in the church of England the corresponding term is a clerk in orders. A parson (persona ecclesiae) denotes a clergyman in possession of a parochial church. Deacon is, in England, not a layman, as in Calvinist countries, but a clergyman of limited qualifications, entitled to preach, baptize, marry, and bury, but not to give the sacrament. Readers are not regular clergymen, but laymen of good character, licensed by the bishop to read prayers in churches or chapels where there is no clergyman. (See Adolphus on the British Empire, vol. i.)

A clerical education in England is of much less length than in Calvinist countries; in Scotland, Holland, Switzerland, or the north of Germany, after going through a course of classics and philosophy, a second course is required for theology solely; but in England the former is sufficient. The degree of bachelor of arts requires an examination and a university residence of three or four years; but to qualify for the acceptance of a curacy, a certificate of attending a single course of lectures in divinity is all that is necessary.

The number of church livings in England and Wales is very great, being fully 10,500. From this multiplicity of benefices, and from the general smallness of the incomes, have arisen two great irregularities, pluralities and non-residence, both forbidden by the ancient statutes of the church, but both long sanctioned by usage. Many clergymen hold livings without doing duty at any of them; others do duty in one or in two which are adjacent to each other, and have a curate for the more distant; whilst curates frequently do duty at two and sometimes at three distinct places of worship. To prevent, or at least to lessen, the abuse of non-residence, an act of parliament was passed in 1813, directing that every non-resident incumbent should nominate a curate at a salary of not less than £80 a year, unless the entire living should be less. The effect of this act was to reduce the number of non-resident clergymen by 800 fully; they had previously been about 4700; but in 1815 the official return to parliament of the incumbents in England and Wales was as follows:

Non-resident from the following causes:

| Cause | Number | |--------------------------------|--------| | Sinecures | 52 | | Vacancies | 164 | | Sequestrations | 40 | | Recent Institutions | 67 | | Dilapidated Churches | 32 | | Held by Bishops | 22 | | Law-suits, absence on the Continent, &c. | 122 | | Livings from which no report | 279 |

| Incumbents non-resident from other causes | 3,856 | | Incumbents resident | 5,847 |

Total: 10,501

The rental of England and Wales was, by a late return, discriminated as follows in regard to tithes:

| Tithe-free in toto | L.7,904,379 | | Tithe-free in part | 856,185 | | Free on payment of a modus | 498,823 | | Subject to tithe | 20,217,467 |

Total: L.29,470,854

A part, and by no means an inconsiderable one, of the tithes of England, is held by laymen; but as the church has other sources of income, its total revenue is computed at nearly L.3,000,000; but the absorption of large sums by several of the prelates, as the Bishops of Durham, Winchester, and London, and the accumulation of the best livings amongst a few individuals of influence, reduce the annual average income of the curates, or most numerous class, to little more than L.100 a year.

Tithes necessarily fluctuate with the state of agriculture, and, during the distress of 1815, the deficiency in this respect became alarming. It was then that the clergy felt what they should have felt long before, that tithe was an unsuitable and impolitic source of revenue. Application was made to parliament, and the subject was for some time under serious discussion; but the rise of corn in 1816 and 1817 prevented any other measure than an act founded on a committee's report of 18th June 1816, authorizing the possessors of tithes, laymen as well as clergymen, to grant leases of them for a term not exceeding fourteen years. The dissatisfaction with tithes has now, however, become so very general that we have no doubt a commutation of some sort or other must shortly take place.

A return to parliament, in June 1817, has specified the incomes of those benefices where there is no parsonage-house, or at least none that forms a suitable residence.

| Income Range | Number | |--------------------|--------| | From L.10 to L.100 | 615 | | L.100 to L.150 | 442 | | L.150 and upwards | 793 |

A prior and more comprehensive return had stated the Church number of churches and chapels for the established faith at 2533; and as these were inadequate (the members of the established church being about five millions, or half the population of England and Wales), an act was passed in 1818, and even pecuniary aid given by government, for the erection of a number of additional churches. The previous attempts to raise the requisite funds by the issue of 'briefs' and voluntary subscriptions had exhibited a miserable specimen of misapplied labour; the expenses of A prebend is a provision in land or money given to a church in prebendal, that is, for the support of a clergyman whose title may be either prebendary or canon. Advowson (advocatio) is the right of presentation to a living, and was first vested in those laymen who were founders of or benefactors to livings. A living is held in commendam when, to prevent its becoming void, it is committed (commendator) until it can be conveniently provided with a pastor. The modus (modus decimandi) is a composition for tithes; it may be either perpetual or during the lives of the contracting parties. The lay impro priators of tithe, so frequent in England, date from the dissolution of the monasteries in the reign of Henry VIII.; patrons were then allowed to retain the tithes and glebe in their own hands, without appointing a clergyman; in cases of such appointment, the clergyman was called vicarius or representative of the patron.

The dissenters in England are, first, the Presbyterians, who nearly coincide with the church of England as to doctrine, but differ in church-government, allowing no hierarchy in individuals; next the Independents, who go further, and disclaim hierarchy in synods and other collective assemblies; thirdly, the well-known sect of Quakers, who date from the middle of the seventeenth century; and, lastly, the more numerous Methodists, who date from 1729. Of the Anabaptists, the chief characteristic is their not receiving baptism till they become adults. The Catholics in England are not numerous, but comprise a large proportion of wealthy families.

In regard to the mode of education in England, there is much both to commend and to censure. Scotland has for a century past been in possession of a larger proportion of parish schools; but the utility of these is much lessened by an established routine of teaching Latin to almost all youths, whatever be their intended line of life. In England this absurdity is less prevalent, because most of the schools are private undertakings, the managers of which are necessarily guided by considerations of utility. The youth destined for a life of business are thus saved a serious waste of time; their education, if imperfect, is not supererogatory; but, on examining the higher seminaries of England, we find much ground for disappointment, and many marks of a blind adherence to ancient usage. Two universities are evidently inadequate for the education of the nobility, the gentry, and the clergy of so populous a country. Their course of study, also, is quite unsuitable to the future occupations of many of the students. They were originally designed for the education of churchmen; and, to this day, Latin, Greek, and mathematics form the chief objects of instruction. Under a government which has so long borne the representative form, there are no classes for the study of political science and legislation. In the country of Locke there are no classes devoted to the study of the philosophy of the mind. In short, there are scarcely any of those public lectures which, in the rest of Europe, constitute the grand characteristic of a university, and distinguish it from schools; all, or nearly all, is done by private tuition. Again, in point of constitution, whilst in other countries a university forms, in general, one large association, in England each college is a distinct body, having its head, its fellows, and its students, who, as far as education is concerned, have very little connection with the rest of the university. In one point, however, these venerable seminaries redeem their faults, and assert the dignity of Statistics, their character; we mean in their public examinations. These, since the early part of the present century, have been put on an admirable footing, both at Oxford and Cambridge; distinguishing the relative degrees of proficiency with great accuracy, and converting into a full and impartial trial that which in other universities is almost always a mere matter of form.

No country rivals England in the magnificence of her Education academical buildings. Whilst in France, Germany, or of the poor, Holland, an university possesses only a single pile of building, Oxford and Cambridge can boast for every college a large, commodious, and generally an elegant structure. The endowments appropriated to them are very various, both in their origin and destination, but these arise chiefly from land, and, having increased with the rise of rents, are in many cases very ample. The destination of these funds is regulated by the bequest of the donors and the established usage of the colleges; part going to the students under the name of exhibitions or scholarships; part to the head and fellows; and a further part consisting in livings, which devolve in succession on the fellows, and lead to their removal from the university. A hall is an inferior college; an academical establishment not incorporated or endowed, but possessed of exhibitions or other provisions for students. Oxford has nineteen colleges and five halls; Cambridge has twelve colleges and four halls.

Within these few years two institutions of a novel kind, the London University and King's College, have been founded in the metropolis, in the view of obviating the defects complained of at Oxford and Cambridge, and of cheapening and diffusing the advantages of an academical education; but their success has not corresponded with the expectations of their projectors. Their constitution appears ill fitted to attain the objects in view; and it is very questionable, unless they be materially modified, whether they will ever be of any material service. The education which they afford is neither very good nor very cheap.

Boys in England are taught the classics, either in the lesser schools established at every town of consequence throughout the kingdom, or at the great public schools. Of the latter, the principal are Eton, Westminster, Winchester, and Harrow; also the Charter-house, St Paul's, and Merchant Tailors' School. These seminaries, at present so expensive, and attended by youths of the first family, had their origin in a fund or provision set apart for scholars of humbler birth. This has served as the basis of a stately superstructure, each school having attracted, by the advantage of situation or the repute of the teachers, a much greater number of pupils in independent circumstances. But in each a proportion of the scholars are still on the foundation. At Eton there are seventy thus provided for; and the same number at Winchester. This subject will be resumed, and treated in detail, under the articles National Education, Schools, and Universities.

X.—Establishments for purposes of Charity.—Poor-Rates.

The public charities of England are very numerous; the bequests of benevolent founders in this country exceeding those of the zealous Catholics of France or Spain, as well as those of the once affluent Protestants of Holland. Our limits admit of the notice of only a few of the foundations in the metropolis and its neighbourhood. Amongst the principal Hospitals are, Bethlem Hospital. St Luke's, Old Street. St Bartholomew's, West Smithfield. Guy's, in Southwark. The Lock Hospital, Hyde-Park-Corner. The London Hospital, Whitechapel Road. The Magdalen Hospital, St George's Road. The Middlesex Hospital, Berner's Street. The Foundling Hospital.

Amongst the Dispensaries and medical charities are, The General Dispensary, Aldersgate Street. City Dispensary in the Poultry. Finsbury Dispensary. Various Vaccine Dispensaries. The Fever Hospital, instituted in 1801.

A College, in the sense of a charity, is an alms-house on an enlarged scale, under the direction of a master and other incorporate officers. There are only three in the neighbourhood of London, namely, Bromley, Morden, and Dulwich Colleges.

Alms Houses.—These are very numerous, viz. the Haberdashers', Mercers', Skinners', East India Company's, &c.

School Charities.—These institutions are also very numerous. Amongst the most remarkable are, Christ's Hospital, or the Blue Coat School. Marine Society. School for the Indigent Blind.

Account of Monies levied for Poor's Rates and County Rates in England and Wales; of the Payments thereout for other purposes than the Relief of the Poor, at all the several periods for which Returns have been required by Parliament; also the Average Price of Wheat at every such period, and the Amount of Population.

| Years | Total Sum levied for Poor's Rates and County Rates | Payments thereout for other purposes than the Relief of the Poor | Expended in Law Removals and similar Incidents | Expended for the Relief of the Poor | Total Expenditure | Average Price of Wheat per Quarter | Population | |-------|--------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------------------------|------------| | (Average) | 1748–49–50 | 730,135 | 40,164 | …… | 689,971 | 730,135 | 27 11 | …… | 6,467,000 | | 1775–6 | 1,720,316 | 137,072 | 35,072 | 1,530,800 | 1,703,528 | 45 0 | …… | 7,690,000 | | (Average) | 1783–4–5 | 2,167,749 | 163,511 | 91,998 | 2,004,239 | 2,259,748 | 46 6½ | …… | 8,260,000 | | (Average) | 1801–2–3 | 5,348,205 | 1,034,105 | 190,072 | 4,077,891 | 5,302,068 | 64 8 | …… | 9,000,000 | | 1812–13 | 8,646,841 | 1,560,347 | 324,957 | 6,656,106 | 8,841,410 | 125 5 | …… | 10,284,000 | | 1813–14 | 8,388,974 | 1,880,817 | 332,663 | 6,294,581 | 8,508,061 | 108 9 | …… | …… | | 1814–15 | 7,457,676 | 1,762,406 | 324,596 | 5,418,846 | 7,505,848 | 73 11 | …… | …… | | 1815–16 | 6,937,425 | 1,214,071 | …… | 5,724,839 | 6,938,910 | 64 4 | …… | …… | | 1816–17 | 8,128,418 | 1,210,720 | …… | 6,910,925 | 8,121,645 | 75 10 | …… | …… | | 1817–18 | 9,320,440 | 1,432,382 | …… | 7,870,801 | 9,303,133 | 94 9 | …… | …… | | 1818–19 | 8,932,185 | 1,408,905 | …… | 7,516,704 | 8,925,609 | 84 1 | …… | …… | | 1819–20 | 8,719,655 | 1,342,658 | …… | 7,330,254 | 8,672,912 | 73 0 | …… | …… | | 1820–21 | 8,411,893 | 1,375,868 | …… | 6,959,251 | 8,335,119 | 65 7 | …… | …… | | 1821–22 | 7,761,441 | 1,396,533 | …… | 6,358,704 | 7,695,237 | 54 5 | …… | …… | | 1822–23 | 6,898,153 | 1,148,230 | …… | 5,772,962 | 6,921,192 | 43 3 | …… | …… | | 1823–24 | 6,836,505 | 1,137,598 | …… | 5,736,900 | 6,874,498 | 51 9 | …… | …… | | 1824–25 | 6,972,323 | 1,212,199 | …… | 5,786,989 | 6,999,188 | 62 0 | …… | …… | | 1825–26 | 6,965,051 | 1,246,145 | …… | 5,928,505 | 7,174,650 | 66 6 | …… | …… | | 1826–27 | 7,784,351 | 1,362,377 | …… | 6,441,089 | 7,803,466 | …… | 58 9 | …… | | 1827–28 | 7,715,055 | 1,372,433 | …… | 6,298,003 | 7,670,436 | …… | 56 9 | …… | | 1828–29 | 7,042,171 | 1,280,328 | …… | 6,332,411 | 7,612,739 | …… | 60 5 | …… | | 1829–30 | …… | …… | …… | 6,829,042 | …… | …… | 66 3 | …… | | 1830–31 | 8,279,218 | 1,540,198 | …… | 6,798,888 | 8,339,087 | …… | 64 3 | …… | | 1831–32 | 8,622,920 | 1,646,493 | …… | 7,036,969 | 8,683,461 | …… | 66 4 | …… |

Deaf and Dumb Asylum. Debtors' Children. Ladies' Charity School. Masonic Charity. Raines' Charities.

Miscellaneous Charities.—Under this head are comprehended several extensive and well-known associations. The African Institution. The British and Foreign Bible Society. Society for Bettering the Condition of the Poor. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. The Missionary Society. The Literary Fund.

A compulsory provision for the support of the poor has existed in England for a lengthened period. Its introduction dates from the reign of Henry VIII., and it was perfected in that of Elizabeth; the famous statute of the 43rd Eliz. cap. 2, having embodied all the principles, with many of the regulations, still to be found in the system. The law has, however, been repeatedly modified, and very great alterations have taken place in its administration. These changes will be fully detailed in our article on the Poor-Laws; and in it also the reader will find an examination of the important and difficult question as to the policy of a compulsory provision for the support of the unemployed poor. Here we have only to state what has been the amount of the rates levied on account of the poor, from what sources they have been derived, and how they have been distributed. The following account for 1825-26 shows the sources whence the poor-rates are derived, and the amount furnished by each.

Account of Monies levied by Assessment for Poor's Rate and County Rate in each County of England and Wales, in the year ending 25th March 1826; distinguishing the amount, and showing the proportion of amount levied in each County on Land, on Dwelling-Houses, on Mills and Factories, and on Manerial Profits and Incidental.

| Counties | Land Parts of 1000 | Dwelling Houses Parts of 1000 | Mills, Factories, &c. Parts of 1000 | Manerial Profits, &c. Parts of 1000 | Total Levied | |----------------|--------------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------------|------------------------------------|--------------| | Bedford | 77,920 | 917 | 6,298 | 7 | 183 | 2 | 84,969 | | Berks | 89,596 | 787 | 21,014 | 185 | 2,446 | 21 | 113,895 | | Bucks | 123,470 | 858 | 17,495 | 121 | 2,702 | 19 | 143,915 | | Cambridge | 85,612 | 846 | 14,427 | 143 | 1,049 | 10 | 101,281 | | Chester | 88,606 | 762 | 20,592 | 177 | 5,315 | 46 | 116,265 | | Cornwall | 85,979 | 787 | 14,016 | 128 | 1,858 | 17 | 109,261 | | Cumberland | 40,765 | 741 | 12,378 | 225 | 714 | 13 | 54,986 | | Derby | 71,376 | 814 | 12,735 | 145 | 2,128 | 24 | 87,604 | | Devon | 180,873 | 766 | 47,898 | 202 | 3,925 | 17 | 236,002 | | Dorset | 74,811 | 799 | 17,170 | 183 | 750 | 8 | 93,645 | | Durham | 63,297 | 666 | 16,658 | 175 | 3,924 | 38 | 95,031 | | Essex | 243,112 | 827 | 42,761 | 145 | 6,829 | 23 | 294,071 | | Gloucester | 100,117 | 644 | 49,017 | 315 | 4,962 | 32 | 155,552 | | Hereford | 58,623 | 895 | 6,736 | 103 | 86 | 1 | 65,480 | | Hartford | 74,927 | 740 | 23,110 | 228 | 2,756 | 27 | 101,305 | | Huntingdon | 38,912 | 863 | 5,504 | 122 | 570 | 13 | 45,083 | | Kent | 253,875 | 681 | 103,584 | 279 | 11,660 | 31 | 371,916 | | Lancaster | 168,422 | 482 | 118,261 | 338 | 50,461 | 144 | 349,669 | | Leicester | 93,882 | 834 | 17,634 | 156 | 782 | 7 | 112,608 | | Lincoln | 174,766 | 862 | 23,306 | 115 | 3,887 | 19 | 202,846 | | Middlesex | 57,221 | 95 | 509,365 | 844 | 36,353 | 60 | 603,720 | | Monmouth | 25,662 | 805 | 4,206 | 132 | 791 | 25 | 31,873 | | Norfolk | 240,596 | 797 | 49,085 | 163 | 8,097 | 27 | 301,632 | | Northampton | 131,644 | 904 | 12,372 | 85 | 536 | 4 | 145,574 | | Northumberland | 50,834 | 653 | 15,233 | 196 | 8,774 | 113 | 77,829 | | Nottingham | 52,625 | 658 | 24,124 | 301 | 2,971 | 37 | 80,011 | | Oxford | 109,306 | 823 | 21,863 | 165 | 1,149 | 9 | 132,767 | | Rutland | 10,960 | 922 | 847 | 71 | 75 | 6 | 11,859 | | Salop | 72,763 | 802 | 14,515 | 160 | 1,227 | 13 | 90,752 | | Somerset | 141,247 | 798 | 30,306 | 171 | 2,380 | 14 | 176,975 | | Southampton | 165,602 | 767 | 46,174 | 214 | 3,374 | 16 | 215,816 | | Stafford | 85,670 | 637 | 34,963 | 261 | 6,655 | 49 | 134,417 | | Suffolk | 221,332 | 842 | 36,525 | 139 | 4,398 | 17 | 262,967 | | Surrey | 80,357 | 321 | 144,064 | 576 | 22,933 | 92 | 250,049 | | Sussex | 214,304 | 818 | 42,752 | 163 | 4,610 | 17 | 262,132 | | Warwick | 94,842 | 600 | 49,393 | 313 | 10,674 | 68 | 157,991 | | Westmoreland | 24,186 | 876 | 2,831 | 102 | 496 | 18 | 27,616 | | Wilts | 157,231 | 843 | 24,662 | 132 | 3,234 | 18 | 186,448 | | Worcester | 62,888 | 749 | 15,892 | 189 | 3,111 | 37 | 83,983 | | York, East Riding | 71,530 | 652 | 32,414 | 295 | 2,338 | 21 | 109,760 | | York,North Riding | 83,523 | 892 | 8,205 | 88 | 1,208 | 13 | 93,605 | | York, West Riding | 180,597 | 627 | 78,472 | 272 | 23,269 | 81 | 288,120 |

England: 4,553,288 679 1,788,865 269 255,775 38 93,559 14 6,661,457 Wales: 272,194 893 23,363 83 3,790 13 3,323 10 304,670

Total of England and Wales: 4,795,482 688 1,914,228 261 259,565 37 96,882 14 6,966,157

It is obvious, from the preceding tables, that, allowing for the increase of population, the increase of the rates has not been nearly so great as is commonly supposed. In point of fact, too, more than half the rates really form part of the wages of labour. The pernicious practice of eking out wages by means of contributions from the rates began in 1795; and as it forms at this moment one of the principal evils in the state of the English poor, we may be excused, perhaps, for subjoining the following statements illustrative of its tendency.

"The price of corn, which had, upon an average of the three preceding years, averaged 54s., rose in 1795 to 74s. As wages continued stationary at their former elevation, the distress of the poor was very great; and many able-bodied labourers, who had rarely before applied for parish assistance, became claimants for relief. But instead of meeting this emergency as it ought to have been met, by temporary expedients, and by grants of relief proportioned to the exigency of every given case, one uniform system was adopted. The magistrates of Berks, and some..." Statistics, other southern counties, issued tables, showing the wages which, as they affirmed, every labouring man ought to receive, according to the variations in the number of his family, and the price of bread; and they accompanied these tables with an order, directing the parish officers to make up the deficit to the labourer, in the event of the wages paid him by his employers falling short of the tabular allowance. An act was at the same time passed to allow the justices to administer relief out of the workhouse, and also to relieve such poor persons as had property of their own. As might have been expected, this system did not cease with the temporary circumstances which gave it birth, but has ever since been acted upon. It is now almost universally established in the southern half of England, and has been productive of an extent of mischief that could hardly have been conceived possible.

"It is needless to dwell on the folly of attempting to make the wages of labour vary directly and immediately with every change in the price of bread. Every one must see, that if this system were bona fide acted upon, if the poor were always supplied with the power of purchasing an equal quantity of corn, whether it happened to be abundant and cheap, or scarce and dear, they could have no motive to lessen their consumption in seasons when the supply is deficient, so that the whole pressure of the scarcity would, in such cases, be removed from them and thrown entirely upon the other, and chiefly the middle classes. But, not to insist on this point, let us look at the practical operation of this system as it affects the labourer and his employers. The allowance scales now issued from time to time by the magistrates are usually framed on the principle that every labourer should have a gallon loaf of standard wheaten bread weekly for every member of his family and one over; that is, four loaves for three persons, five for four, six for five, and so on. Suppose, now, that the gallon loaf costs 1s. 6d., and that the average rate of wages in any particular district is 8s. a week. A, an industrious unmarried labourer, will get 8s.; but B has a wife and four children, hence he claims seven gallon loaves, or 10s. 6d. a week; and as wages are only 8s., he gets 2s. 6d. a week from the parish. C, again, has a wife and six children; he consequently requires nine gallon loaves, or 13s. 6d. a week, and gets of course a pension, over and above his wages, of 5s. 6d. D is so idle and disorderly that no one will employ him, but he has a wife and five children, and is in consequence entitled to eight gallon loaves for their support, so that he must have a pension of 12s. a week to support him in his dissolute mode of life.

"It is clear that this system, by making the parish allowance to labourers increase with every increase in the number of their children, acts as a bounty on marriage, and that, by increasing the supply of labourers beyond the demand, it necessarily depresses the rate of wages. And it is further clear, that by giving the same allowance to the idle and disorderly as to the industrious and well-behaved workman, it operates as a premium on idleness and profligacy, and takes away some of the most powerful motives to industry and good conduct. These, however, are not the only effects of this system. Under its operation a labourer dares not venture to earn beyond a certain amount; for if he did, his allowance from the parish would either be withheld altogether, or proportionally reduced. In consequence, working by the piece is now comparatively unknown in the southern counties of England; and the whole labouring population are reduced to the condition of paupers, deprived of the means and almost of the desire to emerge from the state of helotism in which they are sunk.

"It must be obvious to every one, that if we would avert the plague of universal poverty from the land, a vigorous effort must be made to counteract this system; and we have experience to teach us how this may be done. All, in fact, that is necessary, is to revert to the regulations established previously to 1795, to abolish every vestige of the allowance system, and to enact that henceforth no able-bodied labourer shall have a legal claim for relief, unless he consent to accept it in a workhouse. This condition would go far to prevent relief from being claimed by any except the really necessitous; for there is nothing of which the idle and disorderly are so much afraid, as of the strict discipline, scanty fare, and hard labour that ought to be enforced in every workhouse. It is not, however, meant to recommend that relief should in all cases be refused except to the inmates of such establishments. In the great majority of instances, that temporary assistance which the able-bodied poor only require may be more advantageously afforded at their own houses. But to prevent its being abused, it is indispensable that authority to refuse it, except under condition of residence in a workhouse, and of unconditional submission to all its regulations, should be vested in the administrators of the law. The maimed and impotent poor may, in all cases, be more cheaply and better provided for in their own houses than in workhouses.

"Were the change now proposed effected, most of the inconveniences attached to the poor-laws would be removed, and their salutary and sustaining influence would alone remain." (McCulloch's Principles of Political Economy, 2d edit. pp. 418-421.)

XL—Establishments for the purposes of War and Defence.

These consist, of course, principally of the army and navy. But as detailed accounts, derived from the very best sources, are given, under the articles Army and Navy in this work, of all the most important particulars relating to the history and present state of each of these grand departments of the public force, it would be quite superfluous to enter into any details with respect to them in this place. The subjoined accounts of revenue and expenditure during the three years ended with 1831, contain statements of the number of troops and seamen, and of the expense incurred on account of each branch of the service, in each of these years. They seem, therefore, to include every thing to which it is necessary to direct the reader's attention in this place.

Exclusively of the army and navy, great numbers of individuals in all parts of the country are enrolled as special constables, who may be called upon by the magistrates and other civil authorities to assist in suppressing disorders, and in preserving the public peace. In London and in other great towns strong bodies of police are also employed, constituting, as it were, a half military and half civil force.

2. Revenue and Expenditure.

The various taxes, the produce of which forms the public revenue of the kingdom, will be described in the article Taxation in this work, where also their real incidence and practical operation will be pointed out. The subjoined tables give an account of the income and expenditure of the empire during each of the three years ending with 1831. ### Account of the Public Income of the United Kingdom during each of the three years ending with the 5th of January 1832, specifying the different Taxes, and the produce of each.

| Heads of Income | Years | |-----------------|-------| | **Customs and Excise** | | | Foreign Spirits | | | Rum | | | British Malt | | | Beer | | | Hop | | | Wine | | | Sugar and Molasses | | | Tea | | | Coffee | | | Tobacco and Snuff | | | Butter | | | Cheese | | | Currants and Raisins | | | Corn | | | Cotton Wool* and Sheep's imported | | | Silks | | | Printed Goods* | | | Hides and Skins* | | | Paper | | | Soap | | | Candles and Tallow* | | | Oils, sea-borne | | | Glass | | | Bricks, Tiles,* and Slates | | | Auctions | | | Excise Licenses | | | Miscellaneous Duties of Customs and Excise | | | **Stamps** | | | Deeds and other Instruments | | | Probates and Legacies | | | Insurance | | | Fire | | | Bills of Exchange, Bankers' Notes, &c. | | | Newspapers and Advertisements | | | Stage Coaches | | | Post Horses | | | Receipts | | | Other Stamp Duties | | | **Annuity and Land Taxes** | | | Land Taxes | | | Houses | | | Windows | | | Servants | | | Horses | | | Carriages | | | Dogs | | | Other Assessed Taxes | | | **Post Office** | | | Crown Lands | | | Other Ordinary Revenues and other Resources | | | **Grand Total** | |

N.B.—The duties marked * are now repealed; those marked + are reduced. There are no means by which it is possible to assign to each portion of the empire what may be considered its proper share of the total expenditure. But the following table shows how much each contributes to the revenue:

**Return of the Revenue collected in 1831, in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively; distinguishing the Customs, Excise, Stamps, and Assessed Taxes.**

| Places | Customs | Excise | Stamps | Land and Assessed Taxes | Post Office | Total | |--------------|-------------|------------|------------|-------------------------|-------------|-----------| | England | £16,515,911 | £14,147,252| £6,410,573 | £4,804,829 | £1,081,715 | £29,102,280| | Wales | £26,183 | £176,046 | | £105,530 | £40,995 | £348,710 | | Scotland | £1,478,231 | £2,576,965 | £534,985 | £318,578 | £204,593 | £5,113,353| | Ireland | £1,463,624 | £2,193,079 | £482,040 | | £253,356 | £4,392,101| | **Total** | **£19,483,905** | **£19,088,342** | **£7,427,600** | **£3,228,937** | **£1,530,660** | **£52,764,445** |

**Account of the Public Expenditure of the United Kingdom during each of the three years ending with the 5th of January 1832, specifying each separate item, with the number of Troops, Seamen, &c.**

| Heads of Expenditure | Years | |----------------------|-------| | | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | | Revenue Charges of Collection | | | | | Customs | £1,100,050 | £1,027,670 | £1,002,251 | | Civil Departments | £8,103 | £17,113 | £6,913 | | Preventive Service | £268,478 | £260,043 | £313,674 | | Total | £1,363,525 | £1,287,913 | £1,315,926 | | Excise | £1,249,948 | £1,228,429 | £1,144,150 | | Stamps | £193,279 | £190,157 | £125,109 | | Assessed and Land Taxes | £287,183 | £281,933 | £261,304 | | Other Ordinary Revenues (except the Post Office) | £28,162 | £28,752 | £29,355 | | Total Revenue | £3,118,192 | £3,014,224 | £2,955,546 | | Public Debt | | | | | Interest of Permanent Debt | £25,316,666 | £24,091,759 | £24,027,666 | | Actual Payment of Terminable Annuities | £1,854,695 | £1,843,106 | £1,844,488 | | Actual Payment for Life Annuities and Annuities for Terms of Years | £826,402 | £813,300 | £655,329 | | Interest of Exchequer Bills Management | £876,494 | £275,179 | £273,290 | | Total Debt | £29,153,602 | £28,476,606 | £28,302,781 | | Civil Government | | | | | Civil List; Privy Purse; Trademant's Bills; Salaries of the Household | £1,306,702 | £1,312,162 | £1,312,162 | | The Allowances to the Junior Branches of the Royal Family, and to H.R.H. Leopold George Frederick Prince of Coburg | £409,700 | £401,628 | £411,800 | | The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland's Establishment | £247,974 | £245,923 | £212,375 | | The Salaries and other Expenses of the Houses of Parliament (including Printing) | £141,599 | £144,374 | £238,037 | | Civil departments in Great Britain, exclusive of those in the Army, Navy, and Ordnance Estimates | £320,706 | £320,845 | £339,376 | | Pensions on the Consolidated Fund and Gross Revenue | £204,870 | £264,247 | £348,275 | | Ditto on Civil List | £196,114 | £170,000 | £75,000 | | Total Civil Government | £1,596,599 | £1,578,967 | £1,641,244 | | Carry forward | £33,683,604 | £33,069,798 | £32,899,672 |

*This item of Welsh revenue cannot be discriminated.* | Heads of Expenditure | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | |----------------------|------|------|------| | Brought-forward | 33,565,604 | 33,069,798 | 32,899,972 | | Justice | | | | | Courts of Justice in England, Scotland, and Ireland | 426,823 | 407,001 | 415,953 | | Police, and Criminal Prosecutions | 203,639 | 222,450 | 210,623 | | Convicts at Home and Abroad | 115,925 | 140,365 | 5,129,567 | | Convicts New S. Wales | 167,590 | 107,500 | 3,167,500 | | Other Expenses | 60,704 | 53,620 | 63,184 | | Total Justice | 1,004,598 | 993,678 | 986,547 | | Diplomatic | | | | | Salaries and Retired Allowances of Foreign Ministers | 224,950 | 220,930 | 141,437 | | Ditto ditto Consuls | 192,470 | 117,575 | 112,195 | | Civil Contingencies, Diplomatic | 59,118 | 37,097 | 45,193 | | Total Diplomatic | 403,538 | 375,625 | 298,825 | | Forces | | | | | Army | | | | | Effective Number of Men | (83,721) | (64,172) | (75,493) | | Effective Charge | 4,299,282 | 4,492,688 | 4,808,362 | | Non-Effective Number of Men | (96,595) | (96,681) | (94,024) | | Non-Effective Charge | 2,939,896 | 2,939,896 | 2,924,004 | | Total Army | 7,769,178 | 7,432,294 | 7,732,967 | | Ordnance | | | | | Effective Number of Men | (8,879) | (8,878) | (12,791) | | Effective Charge | 1,363,232 | 1,332,354 | 1,062,913 | | Non-Effective Number of Men | (12,494) | (12,564) | (13,032) | | Non-Effective Charge | 365,626 | 337,090 | 355,904 | | Total Ordnance | 1,728,908 | 1,669,444 | 1,418,817 | | Navy | | | | | Effective Number of Men | (32,458) | (31,444) | (35,749) | | Effective Charge | 4,299,645 | 4,063,368 | 4,243,846 | | Non-Effective Number of Men | (39,467) | (29,922) | (32,021) | | Non-Effective Charge | 1,579,149 | 1,531,646 | 1,624,704 | | Total Navy | 5,878,794 | 5,594,955 | 5,370,551 | | Total Forces | 15,376,881 | 14,716,694 | 15,022,335 | | Bounties for promoting Fisheries, Linen Manufactures, &c., paid out of the Gross Revenue | | | | | Public Works | 236,898 | 207,966 | 173,955 | | Payments out of the Revenue of Crown Lands, for improvements and various Public Services | 606,306 | 474,242 | 622,210 | | Post-Office Charges of Collection and other Payments | 427,015 | 252,691 | 254,433 | | Quarantine and Warehousing Establishments | 696,801 | 710,359 | 673,317 | | Spanish Claims, as granted by Parliament | 191,532 | 214,637 | 203,734 | | Miscellaneous Services, not classed under the foregoing heads, consisting of Grants of Parliament, Payments out of the Consolidated Fund and of Civil List | 290,000 | 1,083,530 | 1,236,875 | | Grand Total | 54,348,675 | 53,011,533 | 52,876,306 | | Terminusable and Life Annuities paid as above | 2,661,096 | 3,296,375 | 3,346,459 | | Corresponding Perpetuities, as estimated by Mr Finlaison | 1,311,529 | 2,143,655 | 2,104,507 | | Difference | 869,568 | 1,152,659 | 1,241,981 | The national debt consists, as every one knows, of sums borrowed to make up deficiencies of revenue. It originated during the wars carried on by William III against France. Its contraction was then not a matter of choice, but of necessity; for, owing to the numerous adherents the exiled family of Stuart had in the country, it would have been impossible to have imposed such an amount of taxes as would have sufficed to defray the expenses of the war, without inflaming the popular discontent to such a degree as would most probably have been subversive of the new government. At first it was usual to fund the amount of stock equal to the sums borrowed; but since the reign of George II, a different practice has obtained; and it has been judged advisable to fund generally in a stock bearing a low rate of interest, by proportionally increasing its amount. Thus suppose interest were five per cent, and that government wished to borrow in three per cent stock; in such a case they would give L1664 of stock for every L100 money paid into the exchequer. By affording, in consequence of the increase of the stock, greater scope for speculation, this practice is supposed to have enabled government to borrow on rather lower terms at the time; but, by disabling them from reducing the interest on such loans at the close of a war, when the market rate of interest uniformly falls, it has proved most signalily injurious. It is not going too far to say that this blunder costs the public at this moment L7,000,000 a year.

| Debt at the accession of Queen Anne in 1702 | L16,394,702 | |-------------------------------------------|-------------| | Debt at the accession of George I. in 1714 | 54,145,363 | | Debt at the accession of George II. in 1727 | 52,092,238 | | Debt in 1763 | 188,855,430 | | Debt at the commencement of the American war in 1775 | 128,583,635 | | Debt at the conclusion of the American war in 1784 | 249,851,628 | | Debt at the commencement of the French war in 1793 | 239,350,148 | | Debt 5th January 1817, when the English and Irish exchequers were consolidated | 848,282,477 |

Since 1817 a deduction has been made of about sixty-four millions from the principal of the debt, and about 5½ millions from the interest on its account. This diminution has been principally effected by taking advantage of the fall in the rate of interest since the peace, and offering to pay off the holders of the different stocks unless they consented to accept of a reduced payment; and had it not been for the highly objectionable practice already adverted to, of funding large capitals at a low rate of interest, the saving in this way would have been incomparably larger. We subjoin an account of the funded and unfunded debt of Great Britain and Ireland as at 5th January 1833.

### GREAT BRITAIN

| Debt due to the South Sea Company, at 3 per cent. | L3,662,784 8 6½ | |-------------------------------------------------|-----------------| | Old South Sea annuities | 3,497,870 2 7 | | New South Sea annuities | 2,460,830 2 10 | | South Sea annuities, 1751 | 523,100 0 0 | | Debt due to the Bank of England | 14,686,800 0 0 | | Bank annuities created in 1728 | 871,919 19 0 | | Consolidated annuities | 347,459,931 7 01| | Reduced annuities | 123,029,913 5 3 |

Total bearing interest at 3 per cent. | L496,195,179 5 23 | Annuities at 3½ per cent. anno 1818 | 12,350,801 16 1 | Reduced annuities, ditto | 63,453,824 2 1 | New 3½ per cent. annuities | 137,613,820 7 2 | L4 per cent. annuities created in 1826 | 10,796,340 0 0 | New 5 per cent. annuities | 462,786 13 4 |

### IRELAND

Irish consolidated annuities at 3 per cent. | 2,903,780 18 4 | Irish reduced annuities | 162,062 6 2 | L3, 10s. per cent. debentures and stock | 14,605,670 3 11| Reduced 3½ per cent. annuities | 1,234,509 4 3 | New 3½ per cent. annuities | 11,784,394 14 0 | Debt due to the Bank of Ireland at 4 per cent.| 1,615,884 12 4 | New 5 per cent. annuities | 6,661 1 0 | Debt due to the Bank of Ireland at 5 per cent.| 1,015,884 12 4 |

Total united kingdom | L33,227,847 6 4 | Exchequer bills outstanding 5th January 1833 | 27,278,060 0 0 |

Total funded and unfunded debt 5th January 1833 | L781,378,549 10 2¾ | ### Annual Charge on Account of Public Debt

| Due to the public creditors | In Great Britain | In Ireland | Total Annual Charge | |-----------------------------|------------------|------------|--------------------| | Annual interest on unredeemed capital | £22,810,491 8 2½ | £1,171,553 0 11¾ | £24,982,044 9 13¾ | | Long annuities, expire 1860 | 1,192,943 4 10 | 73 19 3 | ... | | Annuities per 4 Geo. IV. c. 22, expire 1867 | 585,740 0 0 | ... | ... | | Annuities per 10 Geo. IV. c. 24, expire at various period | 870,998 2 0 | ... | ... | | Annuities to the trustees of the Waterloo Subscription Fund, per 39 Geo. III. c. 34, expire 5th of July 1833 | 7,900 0 0 | ... | ... | | Payable Life Annuities, per 48 Geo. III. c. 148, and 10 Geo. IV. c. 24 | 717,529 5 0 | ... | ... | | National Debt Office | Tontines and other English | 22,371 13 3 | ... | | Life Annuities, per various acts, Irish | 34,230 8 7 | 6,823 7 3 | ... | | Interest of funded debt | 26,242,204 2 3½ | 1,178,450 7 5¾ | 27,420,654 9 9¼ | | Management of debt | ... | ... | 271,533 1 10¼ | | Annual charge on account of public funded debt, Interest on exchequer bills (1832) | ... | ... | 27,692,187 11 7½ | | Total annual charge on account of funded and unfunded debt | ... | ... | 28,351,352 18 1¼ |

A sinking fund for the extinction of the public debt was established by Sir Robert Walpole as early as 1716; but it was virtually subverted in 1783. It was again instituted by Mr Pitt in 1786; and, singular as it may now appear, it was for a lengthened period supposed, that by means of the *legerdemain* operation of compound interest, the public debt might be reduced by borrowing money to pay it off. Dr Hamilton of Aberdeen has the merit of having dissipated this extraordinary delusion, the grossest, certainly, by which any civilized nation ever suffered itself to be imposed upon. He showed that the excess of revenue over expenditure is the only real sinking fund,—the only means by which any portion of the public debt had ever been, or ever could be, paid off; and that all sinking funds operating at compound interest, or otherwise, excepting in so far as they happened to be founded on this principle, were mere quackery and delusion. In fact, upon examining into the matter, it was found that the public debt would have been decidedly less had the sinking fund never been heard of. After such an exposition, the existence of the sinking fund was impossible; and having undergone various modifications, it was finally abolished by the 10th Geo. IV. cap. 27, which enacts, that the sum thenceforth annually applicable to the reduction of the public debt shall consist of the actual surplus revenue beyond the expenditure. In 1832 this surplus amounted to £614,758. 18s. 8d.

### XIV.—Population.

The population of England and Wales at periods antecedent to 1801, can only be determined by computations founded on the returns obtained under poll and hearth taxes, and on the registers of births and deaths. Unfortunately, however, none of these affords data from which the amount of population can be accurately deduced. During the latter part of last century the uncertainty in which this subject was involved afforded materials for a keen controversy, which was carried on by Dr Price on the one hand, and by Mr Howlett, vicar of Dunmow in Essex, and Mr Hales, on the other. The former contended that population had been declining in England from the Revolution downwards, and that it did not in 1777 exceed 4,763,000. Mr Howlett, however, showed conclusively that no reliance could be placed on either Dr Price's facts or arguments; and that there could be no reasonable doubt that the population had materially increased in the interval between 1700 and 1780. The returns obtained under the population acts put an end to this controversy, and proved the general accuracy of Mr Howlett's conclusions. The population, as deduced from them, after allowing for their defects and inaccuracies, is as follows:

| Years | Population of England and Wales | |-------|--------------------------------| | 1700 | 5,475,000 | | 1710 | 5,240,000 | | 1720 | 5,355,000 | | 1730 | 5,796,000 | | 1740 | 6,064,000 | | 1750 | 6,467,000 | | 1760 | 6,738,000 | | 1770 | 7,428,000 | | 1780 | 7,953,000 | | 1790 | 8,675,000 | | 1801 | 8,872,000 |

The population for 1801 was determined by actual enumeration; and since then censuses have been taken in 1811, 1821, and 1831, the results of which are embodied in the following comprehensive table.

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1 Exclusive of £34,521. 7s. 10½d. the annual charge on capitals and long annuities, standing in the names of the National Debt Commissioners, on account of stock unclaimed ten years or upwards, and of unclaimed dividends; and also on account of donations and bequests. | Counties | 1801 | Increase per cent. | 1811 | Increase per cent. | 1821 | Increase per cent. | 1831 | |------------------|------|--------------------|------|--------------------|------|--------------------|------| | **England** | | | | | | | | | Bedford | 63,393 | 11 | 70,213 | 19 | 83,716 | 14 | 95,383 | | Berks | 109,215 | 8 | 118,277 | 11 | 131,977 | 10 | 145,289 | | Buckingham | 107,444 | 9 | 117,650 | 14 | 134,068 | 9 | 146,529 | | Cambridge | 89,345 | 13 | 101,109 | 20 | 121,909 | 18 | 143,953 | | Chester | 191,751 | 18 | 227,031 | 19 | 270,098 | 24 | 334,410 | | Cornwall | 188,269 | 15 | 216,667 | 19 | 257,447 | 17 | 302,440 | | Cumberland | 117,230 | 14 | 133,744 | 17 | 156,124 | 10 | 169,681 | | Derby | 161,142 | 15 | 185,487 | 15 | 213,333 | 11 | 237,170 | | Devon | 343,001 | 12 | 383,308 | 15 | 439,040 | 13 | 494,168 | | Dorset | 115,319 | 8 | 124,693 | 16 | 144,499 | 10 | 159,252 | | Durham | 160,961 | 11 | 177,625 | 17 | 207,673 | 22 | 253,827 | | Essex | 226,437 | 11 | 252,473 | 15 | 289,424 | 10 | 317,233 | | Gloucester | 250,809 | 12 | 285,514 | 18 | 335,843 | 15 | 386,904 | | Hereford | 89,191 | 5 | 94,073 | 10 | 103,243 | 7 | 110,976 | | Hertford | 97,577 | 14 | 111,654 | 16 | 129,714 | 10 | 143,341 | | Huntingdon | 37,568 | 12 | 42,208 | 15 | 48,771 | 9 | 53,149 | | Kent | 307,624 | 21 | 373,095 | 14 | 426,016 | 12 | 479,155 | | Lancaster | 672,731 | 23 | 828,309 | 27 | 1,052,859 | 27 | 1,336,854 | | Leicester | 130,081 | 16 | 150,419 | 16 | 174,571 | 13 | 197,008 | | Lincoln | 208,557 | 14 | 237,891 | 19 | 283,058 | 12 | 317,244 | | Middlesex | 818,129 | 17 | 953,276 | 20 | 1,144,581 | 19 | 1,358,541 | | Monmouth | 45,582 | 36 | 62,127 | 15 | 71,833 | 36 | 98,180 | | Norfolk | 273,371 | 7 | 301,998 | 18 | 344,368 | 13 | 390,054 | | Northampton | 131,757 | 7 | 141,353 | 15 | 162,483 | 10 | 179,276 | | Northumberland | 157,101 | 9 | 172,161 | 15 | 198,965 | 12 | 222,912 | | Nottingham | 140,350 | 16 | 162,900 | 15 | 185,873 | 20 | 225,390 | | Oxford | 109,620 | 9 | 119,191 | 15 | 136,971 | 11 | 151,726 | | Rutland | 16,356 | | 18,850 | 13 | 18,487 | 5 | 19,385 | | Salop | 167,639 | 16 | 194,298 | 6 | 206,153 | 8 | 222,503 | | Somerset | 273,750 | 12 | 303,180 | 17 | 355,914 | 13 | 403,908 | | Southampton | 219,856 | 12 | 245,080 | 15 | 283,298 | 11 | 314,313 | | Stafford | 239,153 | 21 | 295,153 | 17 | 345,895 | 19 | 410,485 | | Suffolk | 210,431 | 11 | 234,211 | 15 | 270,542 | 9 | 298,304 | | Surrey | 269,043 | 20 | 323,851 | 23 | 398,658 | 22 | 486,386 | | Sussex | 159,311 | 19 | 190,083 | 22 | 233,019 | 17 | 272,328 | | Warwick | 208,190 | 10 | 228,735 | 20 | 274,392 | 23 | 336,988 | | Westmorland | 41,617 | 10 | 45,922 | 12 | 51,359 | 7 | 55,041 | | Wilts | 185,107 | 5 | 193,828 | 15 | 222,157 | 8 | 239,181 | | Worcester | 139,333 | 15 | 160,546 | 15 | 184,424 | 13 | 211,356 | | York (East Riding) | 110,992 | 16 | 134,437 | 14 | 154,010 | 10 | 168,646 | | City of York and Ainstey | 24,393 | 12 | 27,304 | 12 | 30,451 | 17 | 33,362 | | York (North Riding) | 158,225 | 7 | 169,391 | 11 | 187,452 | 2 | 190,873 | | York (West Riding) | 565,282 | 16 | 655,042 | 22 | 801,274 | 22 | 978,415 | | **Wales** | | | | | | | | | Anglesey | 33,806 | 10 | 37,045 | 21 | 45,063 | 7 | 48,325 | | Brecon | 31,833 | 19 | 37,735 | 16 | 43,603 | 10 | 47,763 | | Cardigan | 42,956 | 17 | 50,260 | 15 | 57,784 | 10 | 64,780 | | Carmarthen | 67,317 | 15 | 77,217 | 17 | 90,239 | 12 | 100,655 | | Carnarvon | 41,521 | 19 | 49,336 | 17 | 57,958 | 15 | 65,753 | | Denbigh | 60,552 | 6 | 64,210 | 19 | 76,511 | 8 | 88,167 | | Flint | 39,622 | 17 | 46,518 | 15 | 53,784 | 11 | 60,012 | | Glamorgan | 71,525 | 18 | 85,067 | 19 | 101,737 | 24 | 126,612 | | Merioneth | 27,506 | 4 | 30,924 | 11 | 34,882 | 3 | 35,609 | | Montgomery | 47,978 | 8 | 51,981 | 15 | 59,899 | 9 | 66,485 | | Pembroke | 56,280 | 7 | 60,615 | 22 | 74,099 | 9 | 81,424 | | Radnor | 19,050 | 9 | 20,900 | 7 | 22,459 | 9 | 24,651 | | **Great Britain** | | | | | | | | | England | 8,334,434 | 142 | 9,551,888 | 174 | 11,261,437 | 16 | 13,089,338 | | Wales | 541,546 | 13 | 611,788 | 17 | 717,438 | 12 | 805,236 | | Scotland | 1,599,068 | 14 | 1,805,688 | 16 | 2,093,456 | 13 | 2,365,807 | | Army, Navy, &c. | 470,598 | | 640,500 | | 819,300 | | 1,077,017 | | **Total** | 10,942,646 | 151 | 12,609,864 | 14 | 14,391,631 | 15 | 16,537,398 | The following table contains an account of the houses inhabited, building, and uninhabited, the number of families, the distribution of families according to their occupations, with the number of males and the number of females in England and Wales in the year 1821. It is necessary, however, to observe that the classification of employments is not in any degree to be depended upon; but Statistics as it has been frequently referred to, we think it right to lay it before the reader. A much more scientific and elaborate classification of employments was made under the census of 1831; but the results have not hitherto been published.

### Summary of Houses, Families, Occupations, and Persons, in 1821.

| Counties | Houses | Occupations | Persons | |----------|--------|-------------|---------| | | Inhabited | Building | Uninhabited | Families employed in Agriculture | Families employed in Trade, Manufacture, &c., | All other families not comprised in the two preceding Classes | Males | Females | Total | | Bedfordshire | 15,412 | 17,373 | 105 | 202 | 10,754 | 4,827 | 1,792 | 40,385 | 43,331 | 83,716 | | Berkshire | 24,705 | 27,709 | 154 | 622 | 14,769 | 8,773 | 4,158 | 65,446 | 66,481 | 131,927 | | Buckinghamshire | 24,876 | 28,867 | 148 | 549 | 16,640 | 8,318 | 3,909 | 64,867 | 69,291 | 134,058 | | Cambridge | 20,809 | 25,603 | 217 | 247 | 15,536 | 6,964 | 3,103 | 60,501 | 61,608 | 121,909 | | Chester | 47,094 | 52,024 | 414 | 1,212 | 18,120 | 27,105 | 6,799 | 132,952 | 137,146 | 270,098 | | Cornwall | 43,873 | 51,202 | 535 | 1,820 | 19,302 | 15,943 | 16,357 | 121,817 | 132,630 | 254,447 | | Cumberland | 27,246 | 31,804 | 153 | 908 | 11,297 | 13,146 | 7,361 | 75,600 | 80,524 | 156,124 | | Derbyshire | 40,054 | 42,404 | 305 | 1,072 | 14,582 | 20,505 | 7,317 | 105,873 | 107,460 | 213,333 | | Devonshire | 71,486 | 90,714 | 756 | 3,082 | 37,037 | 33,985 | 19,692 | 208,229 | 230,811 | 439,040 | | Dorsetshire | 25,926 | 30,312 | 278 | 766 | 14,821 | 10,811 | 4,680 | 68,934 | 75,565 | 144,499 | | Durhamshire | 32,798 | 45,940 | 257 | 966 | 9,427 | 20,212 | 16,301 | 99,100 | 108,573 | 207,673 | | Essexshire | 49,978 | 59,629 | 298 | 1,164 | 33,206 | 17,160 | 9,263 | 144,909 | 144,515 | 289,424 | | Gloucestershire | 60,891 | 72,156 | 705 | 2,555 | 23,170 | 35,907 | 13,079 | 160,451 | 175,392 | 335,843 | | Herefordshire | 20,061 | 21,917 | 132 | 804 | 13,558 | 5,633 | 2,726 | 51,552 | 51,691 | 103,243 | | Hertfordshire | 23,178 | 26,170 | 172 | 509 | 13,485 | 7,935 | 4,750 | 64,121 | 65,593 | 129,714 | | Huntingdonshire | 8,879 | 10,397 | 46 | 168 | 6,435 | 2,937 | 1,025 | 24,020 | 24,751 | 48,771 | | Kent | 70,507 | 85,399 | 511 | 3,186 | 30,669 | 30,180 | 24,890 | 209,833 | 216,183 | 425,016 | | Lancashire | 176,449 | 203,173 | 1,735 | 5,759 | 22,728 | 152,271 | 28,179 | 512,476 | 540,383 | 1,052,859 | | Leicestershire | 34,775 | 36,806 | 225 | 1,441 | 13,028 | 20,297 | 3,481 | 86,390 | 88,181 | 174,571 | | Lincolnshire | 53,813 | 58,760 | 302 | 979 | 34,900 | 15,845 | 8,015 | 141,570 | 141,488 | 283,058 | | Middlesex | 152,909 | 261,871 | 2,879 | 7,327 | 9,393 | 161,356 | 91,122 | 339,573 | 610,958 | 1,141,911 | | Monmouthshire | 13,211 | 14,122 | 166 | 520 | 6,020 | 6,147 | 1,955 | 27,278 | 34,553 | 61,833 | | Norfolkshire | 62,274 | 74,497 | 525 | 1,269 | 36,368 | 26,204 | 11,928 | 166,892 | 177,476 | 344,368 | | Northamptonshire | 32,503 | 35,552 | 179 | 527 | 18,974 | 11,695 | 4,883 | 79,575 | 82,908 | 162,483 | | Northumberlandshire | 31,526 | 43,128 | 190 | 1,166 | 11,567 | 20,665 | 10,996 | 95,354 | 103,611 | 198,965 | | Nottinghamshire | 35,022 | 38,603 | 288 | 839 | 13,664 | 21,832 | 3,107 | 91,491 | 95,382 | 186,873 | | Oxfordshire | 25,504 | 28,841 | 245 | 531 | 15,965 | 8,971 | 3,905 | 68,817 | 68,154 | 136,971 | | Rutlandshire | 3,589 | 3,936 | 25 | 61 | 2,410 | 1,094 | 492 | 9,223 | 9,264 | 18,487 | | Salopshire | 38,663 | 41,636 | 179 | 1,012 | 18,414 | 17,488 | 5,737 | 102,056 | 104,097 | 206,153 | | Somersetshire | 61,832 | 73,537 | 850 | 1,974 | 31,448 | 27,182 | 14,957 | 170,499 | 185,115 | 355,614 | | Southamptonshire | 49,516 | 57,942 | 287 | 1,943 | 24,303 | 19,816 | 13,829 | 138,373 | 144,924 | 283,297 | | Staffordshire | 63,319 | 68,780 | 429 | 2,326 | 18,285 | 42,433 | 8,060 | 171,668 | 169,372 | 341,040 | | Suffolkshire | 42,773 | 55,064 | 270 | 656 | 30,795 | 17,448 | 6,851 | 132,410 | 138,132 | 270,542 | | Surreyshire | 64,790 | 88,806 | 1,096 | 2,741 | 14,944 | 46,811 | 27,051 | 189,871 | 208,787 | 398,658 | | Sussexshire | 36,283 | 48,563 | 576 | 1,272 | 21,920 | 15,463 | 6,182 | 116,705 | 116,314 | 233,019 | | Warwickshire | 55,082 | 60,123 | 403 | 2,408 | 16,779 | 39,189 | 4,155 | 133,827 | 140,565 | 274,392 | | Westmorelandshire | 9,248 | 10,438 | 113 | 301 | 5,096 | 3,801 | 1,541 | 25,513 | 25,846 | 51,359 | | Wiltsshire | 41,702 | 47,684 | 294 | 1,129 | 24,972 | 16,982 | 5,730 | 108,213 | 113,944 | 222,157 | | Worcestershire | 34,738 | 39,006 | 232 | 980 | 14,928 | 18,566 | 5,514 | 90,259 | 94,165 | 184,424 | | York (East Riding) | 34,390 | 40,499 | 190 | 1,277 | 15,480 | 16,637 | 8,382 | 92,761 | 97,688 | 190,449 | | York (North Riding) | 35,765 | 38,731 | 148 | 885 | 16,732 | 11,570 | 10,424 | 90,153 | 83,228 | 183,381 | | York (West Riding) | 151,311 | 161,466 | 1,273 | 7,230 | 31,613 | 108,841 | 21,012 | 397,542 | 401,515 | 799,057 |

Total of England and Wales | 2,088,156 | 2,493,425 | 19,274 | 69,707 | 847,957 | 1,159,975 | 485,191 | 5,834,166 | 6,144,709 | 11,978,875 |

Notwithstanding the defective state of the registers of marriages, births, and deaths, the results deduced from them are such as to establish beyond all question the fact of an extraordinary improvement having taken place in the healthiness of the mass of the people. Although about 919,000 were added to the population of England and Wales in the interval between 1780 and 1800, the annual average number of burials did not differ materially... It appears from the returns, that in 1780 the rate of mortality in England and Wales was one in forty; meaning by this, that one fortieth part of the whole population died annually. In 1790 the rate of mortality was reduced to one in forty-five. During the five years ending with 1800, it was one in forty-eight; during the five years ending with 1810, one in fifty-one; and during the five years ending with 1820, it had sunk to one in fifty-seven. During the five years ending with 1830, it seems to have slightly increased; having been, at an average of that period, one in fifty-four. See the subjoined table.

This extraordinary decrease of mortality is no doubt owing to a variety of causes; such as, the greater prevalence of habits of sobriety and cleanliness; the better lodging, feeding, and clothing of the labouring classes; improvements in medical science, &c. But to whatever it may be owing, it affords unquestionable evidence of the signally improved condition of the population.

The increase of longevity has been particularly conspicuous in London and other great towns. During the first half of last century, the mortality in the metropolis is believed to have been as high as one in twenty-four; and it required, down to the American war, large supplies of recruits from the country to keep up its numbers. But from 1770 the rate of mortality has been gradually diminishing. In 1790 the births for the first time exceeded the burials; and since then the city would have gone on increasing, though it had not been indebted to the country for a single immigrant. In Manchester, Bristol, &c., the improvement has been equally striking.

The proportion of births and marriages to the population has continued pretty nearly stationary since 1790. We subjoin a table of the annual proportion of baptisms, burials, and marriages, to the population of England; calculated upon an average of the totals of such baptisms, burials, and marriages in the five years preceding the several enumerations of 1801, 1811, 1821, and 1831, and distinguishing the several counties.

| Counties | 1796—1800 | 1806—1810 | 1816—1820 | 1826—1831 | |-------------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------| | Bedford | 35 | 50 | 113 | 34 | | Berks | 33 | 51 | 148 | 33 | | Bucks | 37 | 50 | 129 | 33 | | Cambridge | 33 | 45 | 118 | 31 | | Chester | 39 | 51 | 130 | 39 | | Cornwall | 33 | 58 | 120 | 32 | | Cumberland | 38 | 53 | 145 | 35 | | Derby | 35 | 52 | 138 | 34 | | Devon | 36 | 49 | 109 | 33 | | Dorset | 41 | 62 | 142 | 35 | | Durham | 38 | 42 | 116 | 34 | | Essex | 35 | 44 | 125 | 34 | | Gloucester | 37 | 55 | 127 | 36 | | Hereford | 40 | 65 | 183 | 36 | | Hertford | 38 | 54 | 161 | 34 | | Huntingdon | 33 | 46 | 104 | 35 | | Kent | 30 | 41 | 116 | 29 | | Lancaster | 34 | 47 | 114 | 31 | | Leicester | 35 | 49 | 190 | 38 | | Lincoln | 32 | 49 | 117 | 31 | | Middlesex | 39 | 37 | 95 | 40 | | Monmouth | 56 | 72 | 168 | 50 | | Norfolk | 32 | 47 | 126 | 31 | | Northampton | 42 | 50 | 130 | 38 | | Northumberland | 47 | 57 | 138 | 43 | | Nottingham | 32 | 51 | 116 | 33 | | Oxford | 35 | 53 | 139 | 34 | | Rutland | 33 | 50 | 131 | 34 | | Salop | 34 | 54 | 142 | 35 | | Somerset | 39 | 55 | 139 | 35 | | Southampton | 34 | 46 | 104 | 30 | | Stafford | 34 | 49 | 124 | 31 | | Suffolk | 34 | 56 | 129 | 33 | | Surrey | 37 | 42 | 134 | 37 | | Sussex | 31 | 55 | 126 | 29 | | Warwick | 35 | 52 | 116 | 35 | | Westmoreland | 35 | 50 | 142 | 32 | | Wilts | 41 | 60 | 142 | 36 | | Worcester | 34 | 46 | 137 | 32 | | York (East Riding)| 39 | 55 | 129 | 30 | | York (North Riding)| 36 | 53 | 142 | 31 | | York (West Riding)| 34 | 49 | 124 | 33 |

Summary of England, not including Wales:

| Bap. | Bur. | Mar. | Bap. | Bur. | Mar. | Bap. | Bur. | Mar. | |------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| | 36 | 48 | 123 | 34 | 51 | 122 | 35 | 57 | 127 | | | | | | | | | | |

*Preliminary Remarks to Census of 1821. p. 26.* XV.—Crimes in England and Wales.

Crimes of violence have greatly decreased in England during the last half century. Highway robbery, once so prevalent, is now almost unknown; and though murders are occasionally perpetrated, they are not numerous compared with the amount of population. Latterly, however, the crime of arson has made a great and alarming progress; and, from the facility with which it may be committed, the difficulty of detection, and the destruction of property and life it is almost sure to occasion, no means should be left untried which may tend to arrest its progress. There would seem, from the accounts laid before parliament, to be of late years a very great increase in the offences against property. We believe, however, that much of this increase is apparent only, resulting from the establishment of a police force in most great towns, and from the consequent commitment and punishment of numerous culprits who were formerly allowed to escape. The law of England as to capital punishments has recently been much modified; and various opinions are entertained as to what will be the effect of the change. It has, however, been too recently effected, to allow of any inferences being drawn as to its practical operation. The subjoined tables give a very complete view of the state of crime in England and Wales during the seven years ending with 1832.

I.—Number of Persons Committed, Convicted, Sentenced, Acquitted, &c. in England and Wales.

| In the Years | 1826 | 1827 | 1828 | 1829 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | Total Number in the Seven Years | |--------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------|-----------------------------| | **Committed for Trial.** | | | | | | | | | | Viz. Males... | 13,472 | 15,154 | 13,832 | 15,556 | 15,135 | 16,600 | 17,486 | 107,235 | | Females... | 2,692 | 2,770 | 2,732 | 3,119 | 2,971 | 3,047 | 3,343 | 20,675 | | Total... | 16,164 | 17,924 | 16,564 | 18,675 | 18,107 | 19,647 | 20,829 | 127,910 | | **Convicted and Sentenced.** | | | | | | | | | | To death... | 1,203 | 1,529 | 1,165 | 1,385 | 1,397 | 1,601 | 1,449 | 9,729 | | Transportation for life... | 133 | 198 | 317 | 396 | 405 | 334 | 546 | 2,330 | | 35 years... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | | 28 years... | ... | 1 | 1 | ... | 2 | 1 | 1 | 6 | | 21 years... | ... | 1 | ... | 2 | ... | 1 | ... | 4 | | 14 years... | 185 | 293 | 508 | 691 | 659 | 638 | 764 | 3,736 | | 10 years... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | 1 | 1 | 3 | | 9 years... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | | 7 years... | 1,945 | 2,232 | 2,046 | 2,285 | 2,169 | 2,340 | 2,603 | 15,620 | | 5 years... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | | 4 years... | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | | 3 years... | 11 | 11 | 11 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 49 | | Imprisonment, and severally to be whipped, fined, kept to hard labour, &c... | 297 | 296 | 243 | 235 | 209 | 226 | 230 | 1,736 | | 1 year and above 1 year... | 1,204 | 1,433 | 1,117 | 1,277 | 1,220 | 1,311 | 1,304 | 8,866 | | 1 year and above 6 months... | 5,819 | 6,251 | 5,991 | 6,646 | 6,458 | 7,012 | 7,644 | 45,821 | | Whipping, and fine... | 310 | 321 | 322 | 336 | 284 | 360 | 402 | 2,334 | | Total convicted... | 11,107 | 12,567 | 11,723 | 13,261 | 12,805 | 13,830 | 14,947 | 90,240 | | acquitted... | 3,271 | 3,407 | 3,169 | 3,614 | 3,470 | 3,723 | 3,716 | 24,370 | | no bills found, and not prosecuted... | 1,786 | 1,950 | 1,672 | 1,800 | 1,832 | 2,094 | 2,166 | 13,300 | | Total... | 16,164 | 17,942 | 16,564 | 18,675 | 18,107 | 19,647 | 20,829 | 127,910 | | Of whom were executed... | 57 | 73 | 58 | 74 | 46 | 52 | 54 | 414 |

VOL. VIII. ### Specification of the Crimes of which Persons were convicted in England and Wales in 1826–1832, and of the Numbers annually convicted of such Crimes.

| Nature of the Crimes of which Persons were Convicted in the years | 1826 | 1827 | 1828 | 1829 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | |---------------------------------------------------------------|------|------|------|------|------|------|------| | Arson, and other wilful burning | 3 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 15 | 26 | 35 | | Bigamy | 35 | 23 | 38 | 31 | 27 | 26 | 27 | | Burglary | 311 | 368 | 171 | 108 | 104 | 99 | 118 | | Breaking into a dwelling-house, and larceny | 125 | 240 | 353 | 561 | 535 | 517 | 583 | | Breaking into a building, shop, &c. (not communicating with dwelling-house), and larceny | ... | ... | 151 | 164 | 208 | 163 | 203 | | Cattle stealing | 21 | 31 | 28 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 42 | | Feloniously killing, and maiming | ... | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 8 | | Child stealing | 1 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | | Coining | 7 | 14 | 6 | ... | ... | 7 | 1 | | Coin, counterfeit, putting off, uttering, and having, &c. | 210 | 223 | 205 | 256 | 243 | 257 | 349 | | Embezzlement (by servants) | 91 | 101 | 135 | 130 | 122 | 127 | 154 | | Forgery of and uttering forged instruments, other than Bank of England notes | 8 | 20 | 32 | 24 | 17 | 29 | 50 | | Forgery of and uttering forged Bank of England notes | 15 | 26 | 10 | 13 | 2 | 5 | 5 | | Forged Bank of England notes, having in possession, &c. | 4 | ... | ... | 1 | ... | ... | 2 | | Fraudulent offences | 157 | 206 | 215 | 282 | 290 | 266 | 280 | | Game laws, offences against | 128 | 212 | 306 | 174 | 108 | 83 | 163 | | Horse stealing | 121 | 147 | 135 | 147 | 131 | 125 | 155 | | Larceny | 8,089| 8,858| 8,199| 9,444| 8,969| 9,059| 10,180| | —— in a dwelling-house, &c. | 222 | 223 | 69 | 81 | 100 | 113 | 127 | | —— from the person | 658 | 722 | 682 | 724 | 759 | 906 | 1,151| | Letters, containing bank notes, &c., secreting and stealing | ... | 3 | 1 | ... | 2 | 4 | 2 | | —— sending threatening | 2 | ... | 1 | 2 | 1 | 24 | 4 | | Manslaughter | 62 | 83 | 72 | 56 | 82 | 79 | 66 | | Murder | 13 | 12 | 20 | 13 | 16 | 14 | 20 | | —— shooting at, stabbing, wounding, and administering poison, with intent to murder, &c. | 14 | 35 | 20 | 65 | 28 | 44 | 52 | | —— concealing the birth of their infants | 7 | 5 | 5 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 29 | | Perjury | 6 | 6 | 7 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 6 | | Piracy | ... | ... | ... | ... | 4 | ... | ... | | Rape, &c. | 4 | 11 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 16 | | —— assault with intent to commit | 83 | 64 | 78 | 69 | 41 | 68 | 80 | | Riot and felony | 48 | ... | 2 | ... | ... | 105 | 44 | | Robbery of the person, on the highway and other places | 144 | 301 | 158 | 147 | 166 | 297 | 223 | | Sacrilege | 4 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 8 | 75 | 13 | | Sheep stealing, and killing with intent to steal | 127 | 156 | 122 | 155 | 213 | 162 | 219 | | Sodomy | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 2 | | —— assault with intent to commit, and other unnatural offences | 20 | 23 | 27 | 14 | 29 | 14 | 36 | | Stolen goods, receiving | 157 | 235 | 229 | 277 | 277 | 271 | 347 | | Transports being at large, &c. | 12 | 12 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 4 | | Treason, high | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | | Felony, transferring a stamp, to defraud | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | | —— trafficking in slaves | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | | —— armed to assist smugglers, &c. | 1 | 16 | 11 | 2 | ... | ... | 17 | | Felony, and misdemeanour (not otherwise described) | 196 | 273 | 207 | 231 | 186 | 189 | 181 |

Total number of persons convicted in each year: 11,107, 12,567, 11,723, 13,261, 12,805, 13,830, 14,947 ### Specification of the Crimes for which Persons were Executed in England and Wales in the years 1826–1832, and of the Numbers annually executed for such Crimes.

| Crimes for which Persons were Executed, who were Sentenced to Death, in the Years | 1826 | 1827 | 1828 | 1829 | 1830 | 1831 | 1832 | Total Number in the Seven Years | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---| | Arson, and other wilful burning | 1 | ... | ... | 3 | 6 | 16 | 16 | 42 | | Burglary | 10 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 34 | | Breaking into a dwelling-house, and larceny | ... | ... | 11 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 4 | 32 | | Coining | 1 | ... | 2 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 7 | | Forgery of and uttering forged instruments, other than Bank of England notes | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ... | ... | ... | 11 | | Forgery of and uttering forged Bank of England notes | ... | 2 | 2 | 1 | ... | ... | ... | 5 | | Horse stealing | 7 | 10 | 6 | 6 | ... | ... | ... | 29 | | Larceny in a dwelling-house, &c. | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | ... | 14 | | Letters containing bank notes, secreting and stealing | ... | 1 | ... | ... | ... | ... | 1 | 2 | | Murder—shooting at, stabbing, wounding, and administering poison, with intent to murder, &c. | 10 | 11 | 17 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 92 | | Piracy | ... | ... | ... | ... | 2 | ... | ... | 2 | | Rape, &c. | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 24 | | Riot and felony | ... | ... | ... | ... | ... | 2 | 4 | 6 | | Robbery of the person, on the highway and other places | 15 | 17 | 5 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 65 | | Sheep stealing | 3 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | ... | 14 | | Sodomy | 1 | 1 | ... | ... | 4 | 1 | ... | 7 | | **Total number of persons executed in each year** | 57 | 73 | 58 | 74 | 46 | 52 | 54 | 414 |

END OF VOLUME EIGHTH. | | 1921 | 1922 | 1923 | 1924 | 1925 | 1926 | |---|------|------|------|------|------|------| | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 7 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 10| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 11| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 12| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 13| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 14| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 15| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 16| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 17| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 18| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 19| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 20| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 21| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 22| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 23| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 24| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 25| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 26| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 27| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 28| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 29| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 30| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | | 31| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |

*Примечание.* В таблице указаны только основные виды продукции.